Audiences should prepare themselves to hear one line of dialogue over and over again. That line? "I am Groot." That's right, everyone's favorite pint-sized flora colossus is getting his own series of short films exclusively on Disney+. The series will feature photorealistic animation and see Vin Diesel reprise his role in the appropriately titled I Am Groot.
Little is known about the storylines in these shorts, but it's widely assumed that they're mainly meant to be fun little diversions. In fact, Guardians of the Galaxy mastermind James Gunn has implied that I Am Groot doesn't even officially fall under MCU canon.
Famous high-end toy maker Hot Toys has introduced a new line of stylized mini-figures called "Cosbi." These figurines have already captured several other MCU characters in plastic form, and now Hot Toys have turned their sights to the next MCU outing on the horizon.
New Looks at Groot From Hot Toys
The Hong Kong-based company Hot Toys has unveiled their line of Cosbi figures for Marvel Studios' upcoming series I Am Groot. These toys feature several looks and variations for the title character. Check them out below:
The entire range of figurines includes nine different versions of Groot in total.
Here, Groot looks to be setting off an explosion while wearing the proper protective gear.
Groot looks adorable as a half wood, half leaf centaur.
This figure, labeled "Iwua", features a Groot cast in translucent plastic.
The little guy appears to have gotten ahold of Drax's snack supply here.
Facial hair on Groot? That's a new one.
Groot looks positively radiant in this "dressed up" variant.
He's wearing some sort of headband here whilst playing with an "alien nesting doll."
Onesie Groot looks ready for bed!
Dolphin Groot. It's Groot as a dolphin. 'Nuff said.
Additionally, Twitter user MCU_Facility has shown a few new pieces of promo art for the upcoming series.
Groot looks like a hedge maze topiary here.
And finally, this Groot clearly didn't skip arm day.
The Many Faces of Groot
With so many unique and fun looks for the character, I Am Groot is set to be, at the very least, a very visually interesting collection of short films.
One question that might be on fans' minds regarding the forthcoming streaming series though: Will any of the other Guardians show up too? Surely, given Rocket's close, almost paternal relationship with Groot, it would make sense for him to appear at the very least. As for the other members of the team, it's anyone's guess.
It's important to note that I Am Groot, just based on the fact that the main character is a toddler, would be closer on the timeline to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, where Groot appeared much the same way as in the series. That's assuming the show is even in continuity.
Guardians director James Gunn, who is known for taking a degree of ownership over these characters, has previously said that I Am Groot is "not canon to the Guardians saga." Now, fans can interpret this quote how they'd like, as it is slightly ambiguous in nature. But Gunn does seem to be saying that the show is decidedly not MCU canon, despite being produced by Marvel Studios. However, another of the studios' upcoming animated projects, X-Men '97, also falls outside standard MCU Earth-616 continuity, so there is a precedent here.
In any case, canon or non-canon, Marvel Studios' I Am Groot hits Disney+ on August 10.
