Rocket will have a "horrible" origin story in the MCU and we'll see it soon, reveals James Gunn

Are you ready to get weepy over a genetically-mutated, trash-talking rodent… thing? Even though we’ve seen precious little of Rocket’s origin story in either the original Guardians of the Galaxy or Guardians of the Galaxy 2, it’s time, according to James Gunn, for Rocket’s history to be brought to light – but he won’t be completely sharing his comic origins.

Speaking at Hasbro HasCon (via MCU Exchange), Gunn had this to say regarding Rocket’s potential origins: “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.”

Let’s break that down a bit: Firstly, Rocket’s comic origins involve being experimented on, with the goal of creating a set of hybrid, intelligent animals to look after mentally ill patients in an abandoned colony. If it’s more horrible than that… yeesh.

As for the “coming sagas”, the smart money would be on Guardians of the Galaxy 3, but don’t rule out either Avengers: Infinity War or Avengers 4 devoting a small slice of screen-time to expanding upon the history of the trash panda. There’s also the remote possibility of a Rocket spin-off. Never say never…

Don’t worry, though, even if certain deaths still sting a little, we’ve still got a little while yet to emotionally prepare ourselves for Rocket’s brutal origin story.

Image: Marvel

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.