The MCU just keeps growing and growing, and with it, we meet brand new MCU characters pretty much every month at this point. Not content with dominating the big screen, Disney has brought comic book action to its streaming service, and the latest in a long line of Marvel series has a fun link to one of the worst Star Wars creatures.
I Am Groot is a cute anthology series following Guardians of the Galaxy hero Groot as he gets up to more mischief outside of the Marvel movies. At just five minutes per episode, it’s best not to get too attached to the sci-fi series, but when you meet the squirrel-looking creature named Snoot Pin Bongo, you’ll soon be glad not to have to see too much of him.
In an interview with Variety, I Am Groot writer, and director Kirsten Lepore revealed the curious inspiration behind this new monster from the TV series, which stems back to an infamous Star Wars character from the Original Trilogy we’d all rather forget.
“We created this squirrel-like character named Snoot Pin Bongo. He was very much inspired by Salacious Crumb from Star Wars,” Lepore explained. “I loved how annoying and over the top he was.”
It makes sense that the animated series would have some roots in another Disney property, of course. Actors and creatives are constantly moving between MCU movies and Star Wars movies, so why not have characters inspired by each other too?
Crumb is renowned for his rather loud cameo in the concluding chapter of the Original Trilogy. He appears in Jabba’s Palace in the ‘80s movie Return of the Jedi, and has briefly popped up in various other Star Wars series and science fiction movies throughout the history of the franchise.
For more from Groot, check out our guide to the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 release date.