James Gunn Teases Rocket's Origin in a Future Project

One of the most beloved characters to come out of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise has to be Rocket Raccoon. The loveable but slightly manic raccoon was given a spotlight during the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Strong parallels were made between him and Yondu, which allowed both characters to accept their roles in the lives of their friends. Throughout both films, we did also get small glimpses into his past that may become the focus of future film Vol. 3. The Hasbro HasCon has given us some interesting reveals so far and James Gunn offered a bit more on what we can expect from Rocket’s background. Our own Caleb Borchers was at Gunn’s panel, where one person asked the writer and director about the possibility of Half-World making an appearance and which version we could potentially expect.

“As you know, the MCU is one way of processing these characters. 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.”

Gunn certainly seems to already have an idea of how Rocket came to be and will most likely become an important plot-line at some point. At first, the most obvious answer would seem to be Vol. 3, but the way he described it as “coming sagas” would point to a potential spin-off about the rodent with anger management issues. He had his own series of comics, most notably being the latest version by Skottie Young, so it would not be too surprising for him to get his own film. Still, it would be an interesting story to explore together with the rest of the Guardians. After getting into a lot of fights with the Rocket, the usually emotional Quill might understand the trash panda better after seeing the world from which he came.

What is interesting is the fact that the director points to his backstory being even darker than that of the comics. He does not reveal much, but Gunn was rather coy on actually mentioning the involvement of Halfworld. It seems like they could also go into a completely new direction with his background, but could keep some of the crazier parts of his origin. Whatever he has planned, it will end up being quite a ride.

What do you think is the back-story for the MCU version of Rocket Raccoon? Let us know, in the comments!