Prior to the creation of Marvel‘s modern Guardians of the Galaxy team in 2008, Rocket Raccoon was one of the company’s lesser known heroes. He didn’t have the biggest fan following. Nearly a decade and two blockbuster movies later, that’s changed in a huge way. Now, Rocket is among the most popular characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and he may be getting a larger spotlight in the future.
Via MCU Exchange, director James Gunn addressed Rocket’s future in the MCU while making an appearance at last weekend’s Hascon. “As you know, the MCU is one way of processing these characters,” said Gunn. “616 is a different one. We are going to learn more about where Rocket comes from in the coming sagas. It’s going to be a little different from the comics. We already know a lot about from where he came from. It’s a little bit more horrible than what it is in the comics when you come down to it. We will learn more about that.”
That glimpse of Rocket’s backside from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie already suggested a much darker origin compared to his comic book roots. As originally conceived by Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen, Rocket lived on a planet called Halfworld alongside other anthropomorphic talking animals like Wal Rus and Blackjack O’Hare. Years later, that fairly peaceful origin was retconned into a new past that established the anthropomorphic animals as experiments at the Halfworld Asylum for the Criminally Insane. Essentially, they were all therapy animals.
Rocket’s inherent anger and self-loathing is a more recent addition to his characterization, and it’s one of the reasons he resonates so strongly on the big screen. We wouldn’t be surprised at all if Marvel eventually spins Rocket, or Rocket and Groot into their own film after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. That would be the ideal time to explore Rocket’s new MCU origin.
Incidentally, the first movie hinted that one of Rocket’s Halfworld companions already exists in the MCU. When Rocket was booked at the Kyln, Lylla was listed as one of his known associates. In the Marvel universe, Lylla was a walking, talking otter who was basically Rocket’s girlfriend. She recently appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, (as seen in the above pic), and it seems likely that she could play into Rocket’s MCU origin.
Are you eager to see Rocket’s new origin play out on the big screen? Yell “I am Groot!” in the comment section below!
Images: Marvel Studios/Telltale Games
Want more Guardians of the Galaxy stories?
- Hug Rocket and Groot Build-A-Bears.
- Learn about a Guardians manga series.
- Watch the “Guardians Inferno” music video.
