The Guardians of the Galaxy are at the start of a major resurgence in the MCU following a three year hiatus, with their last appearance in the franchise coming in 2019's Avengers: Endgame. Everybody in the team from Chris Pratt's Star-Lord to Bradley Cooper's Rocket Raccoon is ready to make their presence felt in the MCU's cosmic story, both in theaters and on Disney+.
The team first had a short, but fun, appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder before blasting off into a jump portal to an unknown final destination, leaving Thor to fight his own solo mission. This comes almost a year before their next intergalactic journey in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but they also have a couple of unique stories set to premiere on Disney+, as well.
One of these will be a special animated outing under the title I Am Groot, which will bring five unique shorts centered around a version of Vin Diesel's adorable Baby Groot that first came in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Now, along with Diesel, another Guardians star has been confirmed to join the animated sphere as he brings his fan-favorite character back for more MCU madness.
Bradley Cooper Back as Animated Rocket Raccoon
Thanks to an early theatrical screening of the first episode of Marvel Studios' I Am Groot, Bradley Cooper is confirmed to return as Rocket Raccoon in the Disney+ shorts. Cooper's name appeared in the credits as Rocket Raccoon, guaranteeing his appearance in at least one episode of I Am Groot and marking his sixth appearance in the MCU to date.
In Episode 1, Rocket looks for Groot in their ship after hearing a huge explosion that the baby tree caused. After first getting mad at Groot, he takes a drawing that the baby made of the Guardians team, but then falls into the floor due to another explosion after realizing his tail hair was used to make the picture.
Rocket Makes His Mark on Solo Groot Disney+ Show
Rocket Raccoon has turned into a fan-favorite character throughout his eight years in the MCU, particularly after seeing such an emotional journey come forward in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Now, he's confirmed to be a part of all four Guardians-centric entries in Phase 4, rejoining his longtime partner as they bring another round of entertainment to the MCU.
It's not too surprising to see Cooper return to the role for this series, as Rocket was arguably the most likely Guardian to join the cast alongside Baby Groot in these short Disney+ videos. It's still a mystery if he will appear in the other four shorts coming to the streaming service in a few weeks, but for now, the MCU veteran has his moment to shine in this new animated setting alongside the currently-smallest Guardian.
All five episodes of I Am Groot will begin streaming on Disney+ on Wednesday, August 10.
