Though Groot doesn’t have all that much to say in Avengers: Infinity War, the talking tree’s last spoken dialogue in the film is apparently quite the tearjerker.
Groot in Avengers: Infinity War. Image: Marvel
Given just how many characters are stuffed into Infinity War, it isn’t surprising that certain heroes didn’t get a lot of screen time. But Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn took to Twitter over the weekend to let everyone know that at least one of the things Groot says is more heartfelt than nearly anything else uttered during the movie.
As you know by now if you’ve seen Infinity War, Groot is one of the billions of people that Thanos manages to murder after getting ahold of the Infinity Gauntlet and all six Infinity Stones. With the snap of his fingers, Thanos triggers the withering and fading away of half the universe’s people, including a number of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s heroes.
After failing to stop the Mad Titan’s assault on Wakanda, Rocket watches in horror as Groot’s body begins to blow away on the wind and the flora colossus utters his signature phrase one final time before he dies. Given how little we saw of Rocket and Groot interacting, Groot’s death might not have initially packed all that much of an emotional punch for some of the audience, but it does when you realise what Groot’s saying with that last “I am Groot”.
SPOILER…
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“Dad”— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) May 6, 2018
OK. Ouch.
Rocket and Groot’s relationship has always been a little tricky to describe, because while they’re both clearly friends with one another, Rocket’s definitely taken on something more like a paternal role for the tree-like creature since his “death” and rebirth at the end of the first Guardians.
Turns out, beneath that rough, angsty exterior, Groot has loved his father-raccoon-friend the whole time. It’s all right. Go ahead and cry. Nobody will judge you.