It’s just not a science fiction movie without something adorable, and so Guardians Of The Galaxy has its Groot and Star Wars: The Last Jedi has its porgs. Its delicious, delicious porgs. But in a debate between Entertainment Tonight host Ash Crossan and Guardians director James Gunn, Gunn dropped a bomb about Groot we hadn’t considered before. Namely, the Groot we see on screen in the sequel isn’t the Groot we knew from the first film. Minor spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy below.
It starts with the Twitter game “One Gotta Go” between Groot and a Porg:
THIS IS *MESSED* UP https://t.co/sONnNOGAAi
— Ash Crossan (@AshCrossan) February 27, 2018
Gunn comes down on the side of Groot, and not just out of franchise solidarity. Gunn’s argument is that Groot is a sentient being, and Porgs are just cuter pigeons (well, puffins, really, but whatever. When a fan points out that, hey, Groot just grows back, Gunn drops this bomb:
https://twitter.com/JamesGunn/status/968576621220331520
Yep, it turns out Groot really did die at the end of Guardians of The Galaxy and baby Groot is an entirely new hero, hence the fun-loving personality and general childish behavior. Which Twitter took with its usual class and aplomb:
— Pablo Machado (@elmachas) February 27, 2018
But it says “I am Groot”
— Bryan Rapp (@BryanRapp) February 27, 2018
https://twitter.com/OnionsAndWine/status/968583394928902145
https://twitter.com/BrianLynch/status/968585152690442240
So when you rewatch the original, remember that’s Groot sacrificing himself for the greater good. You know, just in case his being destroyed didn’t make you cry already.