Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3's Trailer Has MCU Fans Misty-Eyed Over Baby Rocket

When "Guardians of the Galaxy" was released in 2014 during Marvel's "Phase 2" era, space exploration, dark humor, and a penchant for sugary pop songs from decades past became new and unique attributes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This was expanded upon in the movie's sequel three years later, and will no doubt feature in the upcoming "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" as well. In addition to comical storytelling and stellar special effects inside of a thrilling superhero story, the movies also featured unforgettable characters, with Chris Pratt's Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana's Gamora, Dave Bautista's Drax the Destroyer, and Vin Diesel's voice work on Groot and Baby Groot all becoming an indelible component of the MCU.

Alongside both Groot and Baby Groot, Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) was also a character that became a strong fan favorite thanks to his irreverent humor, artillery skills, biting comebacks, and rapport with the rest of the team. But things may not be all good for Rocket as the third film approaches, even though it is now confirmed we will see Baby Rocket before he becomes the hardened warrior we know so well (per Comic Book). This has left many fans misty-eyed now that the character's origin story is being explored.

In the "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" trailer, there is a brief scene that shows a hand reaching out to grab a scared and bewildered-looking baby Rocket Raccoon. As promised around the time of the 2017 release of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," director James Gunn promised that the next installment would go into more detail about Rocket's backstory, and the brief scene in the promotional clip confirms that this will likely include some disturbing specifics about those biological tests the character underwent when he was younger. The ominous moment in the trailer already has fans on edge in trying to figure out what this could mean for the lovable raccoon.

On Twitter, @StevenPayne89 shared, "Yo, I was already excited for #GotGVol3! This first trailer just cranked it up a notch [star-eyed emoji]. I know this is the last #GuardiansOfTheGalaxy movie for some of them, I just don't think I'm ready to see anything bad happen to Rocket Raccoon [concerned emoji]." Fan @HENRYJEDIKNIGHT shared this sentiment by tweeting, "This scene of baby rocket raccoon is gonna have everyone bawling in the theaters. Look at him he's terrified. Poor rocket he has been through some s***. #GotGVol3." Although the scene looks troubling, it appears audiences will finally get to see Rocket's origins fully explained.

Although the clips of Baby Rocket and the snazzy, quick-witted adult version we know and love in distress, fans of the character have had some warnings that the new film will likely explore some of the more unfortunate areas of Rocket's history. In a November 2022 interview with Comic Book, James Gunn shared how "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is an emotional experience. He also explained how that working environment was nicely balanced by simultaneously filming the "Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special" for Disney+. He stated, "And it tells this story about Rocket and where he came from and where he's going, and how that ties into everybody else, and the end of this iteration of The Guardians..." The filmmaker then added how the special was like recess while shooting some of the heavy themes in the main movie created a whiplash effect due to the two opposite tones.

But fans are still in their feelings after watching Rocket's moments in the clip. Twitter fan @JoshThomas1994 shared, "Rocket is literally my favourite member of the Guardians. I think it ... will break me if dies. #GuardiansoftheGalaxyVol3 #GOTGVol3." @finalgirll kept things a bit more short and sweet by simply stating, "[smiling emoji] my sweet baby don't hurt him #gotGVol3." 

Viewers can find out Rocket Raccoon's ultimate fate when "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is released into theaters on May 5, 2023.