X

'Guardians of the Galaxy' director: Groot died in first film

Were we supposed to know this? Because some of us thought Baby Groot was just a reborn version of big Groot...

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, generational studies. Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
See full bio
Gael Cooper
grootpushingbutton.jpg

Baby Groot isn't big Groot -- he's that character's son. 

 Marvel

Four years after "Guardians of the Galaxy" came out, director James Gunn is clarifying a major plot point: tree-creature Groot did actually die in that 2014 film.

More on 'Guardians'

That might seem obvious, but some of us (OK: me included) assumed Groot was reborn as the sapling that became Baby Groot, a character in 2017's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2." Hey, we don't know how tree people roll, and we don't judge.

But no, the Groot from the 2014 film is permanently dead, Gunn said on Twitter Tuesday.

Many fans were pretty surprised by what to Gunn seemed an obvious plot point.

Some thought Gunn was just adding facts not in evidence, as they say in court, but nope, he says the movie events were clear: Groot died. Baby Groot is his child.

Pleading with the director didn't work, either.

And then people began discussing the meaning of "I am Groot."

The science of it all seemed kinda confusing.

No matter how it happened, it still makes people sad.

This isn't Gunn's first after-the-film reveal. He's also noted the Guardians don't speak English, which surprised some wondering how the group will chat with the Avengers in "Avengers: Infinity War," coming later this year.

Baby Groot does seem to be growing into Angsty Teen Groot, but we'll find out more in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," due out in 2020.

2018 sci-fi, fantasy and geek movies to get excited about

+84 More
See all photos