Rocket Raccoon Is Not The Focus Of Guardians Of The Galaxy

By Brent McKnight | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

One of the exciting pieces of the news that Marvel is working on a Guardians of the Galaxy movie is the hope that Rocket Raccoon is a significant part of the crew. After all, raccoons, as a species, are woefully underrepresented on the big screen, so much so that the last live-action movie where they had any lines at all may have been The Great Outdoors in 1988. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t like the idea of a badass, anthropomorphic raccoon in space?

Too bad that it turns out Rocket Raccoon is not going to be as central a player, as the film will choose to focus on the human, or at least human-ish characters of Star-Lord, Gamora, and Drax the Destroyer. It also looks like Groot, the alien plant monster, will also get the short end of the shaft. Again, what about the phrase “alien plant monster,” doesn’t make you want to see that in a movie?

Here’s what we know so far about the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy: “a U.S. pilot who ends up in space in the middle of a universal conflict and goes on the run with futuristic ex-cons who have something everyone wants.” Presumably this pilot is Peter Quill, AKA Star-Lord, and in preparation for the movie, he, Gamora, and Drax “are getting visual and backstory updates to meld them into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

There are a number of elements that tie Guardians to the Avengers sequel. For instance, Thanos, the Avengers 2 villain, raised Gamora, and also killed Drax’s entire family before he became Drax.

It makes sense to focus on the humanoid characters, purely for logistical reasons. But Hulk looked so good in The Avengers that I hope Rocket and Groot get a decent amount of story time. Those are two characters that would a ton of fun to see on screen.