In 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, audiences fell in love with the walking tree creature known as Groot and began to weep uncontrollably when he sacrificed himself for his friends (or was that just me?)
However, we were all relieved when it was shown that just by planting a little piece of Groot that he could regrow. Yay! More Groot! Audiences got even more excited to see him in the sequel when the trailers showed that he hadn’t quite grown up yet and was still just a baby tree; an absolutely adorable baby tree, but still just a baby that’s expected to help save the galaxy from certain destruction.
In 2017’s sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Baby Groot stole our hearts and, despite his small stature, helped save his fellow Guardians and the galaxy at large when he aided in the battle against the villainous Ego.
On February 27th, Sophie’s choice of sorts was posted on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/Arielle07/status/968557680272035840
The porgs from Star Wars: The Last Jedi, left audiences divided, with some saying they’re an adorable and fun addition to the movie, while others said they’re pointless and shouldn’t have been added at all. This question caused a firestorm on Twitter with some people voting in favor of the porgs simply because “Groot could be grown again.” This conversation eventually caught the attention of Guardians director James Gunn, and he said what nobody expected/wanted.
Groot was dead. He had died in his self-sacrifice at the end of the first film, and Baby Groot was his son.
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/968576621220331520
The genetics of alien tree creatures and how they reproduce aside, it was a somewhat shocking twist that I don’t think anyone saw coming. Turns out Baby Groot was an entirely new tree creature and not just Groot reincarnated. Don’t worry though cause as we all saw, Baby Groot is as fun-loving as his Dad and will probably turn out just like his old man when it comes to helping the heroes save the day when he next appears in Avengers: Infinity War as, you guessed it, Teenage Groot, complete with all the angst.
Also, in case you needed a good old fashioned cry today, you can rewatch Groot’s original sacrifice in the first film, considering he, you know, actually dies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vSm6HN16aw
