Ask anyone who enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy, and most will agree that Rocket Raccoon and Groot were two of the movie's best parts. The former is a wisecracking raccoon with a love of weaponry, the latter was a tree-being with a lovable naivety and only able to communicate using three words. In recent years, they've ranked as one of the best cinematic duos. Rocket and Groot will return next year for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and if Vin Diesel is to be believed, there's a distinct chance the two of them could lead their own movie later down the line.
During an interview with Screen Junkies, Diesel, who voices Groot, revealed that Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn is particularly keen on getting a Rocket Raccoon and Groot movie off the ground following Avengers: Infinity War. As Diesel put it:
I think if it's up to James Gunn, you're going to see a Groot/Rocket movie after Infinity Wars. It's highly possible.
Given how critically and commercially successful Guardians of the Galaxy was in 2014 and how the sequel is priming itself to be one of the biggest blockbusters of 2017 (not to mention has broken an impressive teaser trailer record), one would think that James Gunn has a lot of pull to make a Rocket and Groot movie happen. After all, those two have led their own comic book series, so it's not like separating them from the other Guardians would be unprecedented.
That being said, given that Marvel releases only 2-3 movies a year tops, it seems likelier that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would be a higher priority for Phase Four. That way we get Rocket, Groot and their other memorable teammates. Of course, once that movie's been released, then Rocket and Groot could potentially venture out on their own. Maybe then we can finally have subtitles for what Groot actually means when he's saying "I am Groot" rather than strictly rely on Rocket's translation.
When moviegoers reunite with Rocket Raccoon and Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, their relationship will be slightly different than it was in the first movie. That's because rather than the talking tree being a giant, we'll see him as the smaller Baby Groot, making Rocket the tall one of the two. Other than the size difference, though, the dynamic looks like it will be the same, including Rocket becoming frustrated by his buddy's stupidity to comprehend the simplest of tasks. Following the sequel, those two and the other Guardians will team up with Earth's Mightiest Heroes in Avengers: Infinity War to battle Thanos.
You can catch Rocket and Groot back in action when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is released in theaters on May 5, 2017.
