Our favorite MCU found family may be gone, but they left quite the impression on their final outing with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. In James Gunn’s last film in the trilogy, the ragtag group of heroes bands together to save their friend Rocket (Bradley Cooper) from the wrath of the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji) while the raccoon confronts his dark past. Though Rocket and Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) are at the heart of the film, there’s a particularly special moment for loyal fans of the franchise involving Vin Diesel’s beloved tree monster Groot at the end of the film. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Diesel opened up about what that moment means for everyone who has watched The Guardians on the big screen since 2014.
At the end of Vol. 3, Groot surprises the audience by speaking words other than “I am Groot” or “We are Groot” for the first time in the entire franchise. What makes the moment so special is that it’s confirmed that Groot’s dialect can be understood by those who’ve spent enough time to get to become familiar with him. Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) goes through this whole process in the film. Since she’s not the same Gamora that ingrained herself with the team in the previous two films, she had to spend serious time getting closer to everyone before she could translate her tree companion. Thus, that final moment where he speaks an understandable “I love you guys” is an ode to the love and support fans have given to all things Guardians of the Galaxy since the beginning.
Diesel spoke to the patience and loyalty of fans who have seen Groot die, be reborn, get his own bite-sized spinoff series, and grow into a benevolent hero all over again, saying:
“You know, just… on that front, it was very cool because it meant that the audience is now able to understand the vernacular, the language of this Flora colossus, and that’s a testament to the ten years of loyalty which we’ve been so blessed with in this franchise with the Groot character and patience to have people wait that long for somebody saying three words. But, like everything alive, with patience and dedication.”
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 manages to escape without killing any of the heroes, even if the deaths that do occur are incredibly tragic, but it brings closure to everyone involved. The original team is no more at the end with almost everyone going their separate ways, though Groot manages to stick around with his pal Rocket who is given captaincy of the Guardians and forms a new team together with Kraglin (Sean Gunn), Adam Warlock (Will Poulter), Cosmo the Space Dog (Maria Bakalova), and Phyla (Kai Zen). Even as the door is officially closed on the old-found family, this new one could reappear in the MCU again one day to help when needed most.
Gunn’s heartfelt sendoff to his team has definitely won the hearts of audiences, earning rave reviews and punching well above projections at the box office. Collider’s own Ross Bonaime hailed it as the best MCU film in years for how it delivers on the years of connection its heroes have built up together. With a deliciously evil villain, a deeply mature love story, and even the first F-bomb in MCU history, Gunn has gone all out to ensure the Guardians and their fans were given something appropriately grand to end their time in the sun.
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