Phase 5 Director Wants Marvel To Make The MCU’s Baby Rocket Spin-Off

Baby Rocket Raccoon, introduced in this year’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, could get his own Marvel Cinematic Universe spin-off if one director’s idea comes to life. Since he was introduced in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, Rocket Raccoon has been a beloved and intriguing character, but it was James Gunn’s third movie in the trilogy that really explored his backstory and set up his future in the MCU. In the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 post-credits scene, Rocket was shown leading the team with a new roster of heroes.

The character’s well-developed backstory may be partly why I Am Groot director Kirsten Lepore suggested Rocket Raccoon as another Marvel character who could get the spin-off treatment. When asked by ComicBook.com about what other characters might work for the digital short form of the I Am Groot series, Lepore first thought of Rocket. She said:

My brain, of course, goes to Guardians first. What would a Rocket one look like? You know, baby raccoon stories?

Throughout all three of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Rocket Raccoon’s evolution as a character is explored, with his story coming to a head in the trilogy capper. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 revealed how Rocket was created, abused and finally betrayed by the High Evolutionary, showing how the character came to be the cynical, standoffish bounty hunter introduced in the first movie. The Guardians of the Galaxy 3 ending highlights how much Rocket has grown by facing and overcoming his trauma, turning him into the new leader of the team.

Still, audiences didn’t get to spend a lot of time with young Rocket, and didn’t get to see any of his life between escaping the High Evolutionary and when he meets the other Guardians in Vol. 1. This leaves plenty of material for a spin-off to cover, especially since it would allow Marvel to showcase more of the lovable rascal introduced in the first GOTG movie. Additionally, because Rocket’s trauma would still be fresh, there’d be plenty of emotional depth to the character to explore. If it’s in a series like I Am Groot, Marvel may not want to get too serious, but there’d still be plenty of Baby Rocket adventures to showcase.

Of course, it remains to be seen if any other Marvel characters will get their own spin-off in a series of digital shorts. As of now, Marvel hasn’t announced any other new animated series beyond the handful already greenlit: X-Men ’97, Spider-Man: Freshman Year and Marvel Zombies. As of now, it’s not even known when Rocket will return in the MCU. While he may be back for the possible Guardians of the Galaxy 4, he could also appear in one of the upcoming Avengers movies. Until it’s known, the prospect of a Rocket Raccoon spin-off series after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is certainly fun to consider.

Source: ComicBook.com

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