Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3: Who Voices The Younger Version Of Rocket?

Contains spoilers for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"

Rocket Raccoon has shared vocal cords with the Oscar-nominated actor Bradley Cooper for as long as he's been stealing people's body parts in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Debuting in "Guardians of the Galaxy" and going on to appear in the MCU a total of seven times, the pistol-packing pest is a fan-favorite and one that'll surely be missed following "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3." Cooper wasn't the only one that put in the work though, as someone needed to be at hand when it came to giving the rest of the Guardians someone to work with on set. For that, director James Gunn turned to his brother, Sean Gunn, to stand in should Rocket need to be yelled at by Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), or the rest of the team.

In the case of the Guardians' swan song, we get a lengthy glimpse of Rocket's life before he met Groot and, with it, a new voice as the younger iteration. It's a guaranteed tear-jerker, elevated by someone daring to step into a role that Cooper has done so well making his own. Who else would casting turn to other than Sean Gunn to help provide the voice of Rocket in his younger years before he became the Guardian we all know him to be.

Beginning in broken speech to go with his traumatic time with the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji), Sean Gunn was tasked to breathe life into Rocket Raccoon during his formative years. While it might have been expected to be an easy job given his experience playing one side of the character since 2014, it turned out that winding back the clock on Rocket actually created a new challenge for Gunn when his voice was included.

Speaking to ComicBook, Gunn broke down what was needed to bring the more innocent Rocket with a few rays of hope left in him to the big screen. "I mean, it's just part of the gig like anything else," he explained. "It's like you and going back and figuring out who this guy is and where he came from, and oh, it's heart-wrenching, but it's good." 

He's not wrong; along with Lylla (voiced by Linda Cardellini) and the rest of their furry friends, Gunn's vocal input as the Guardians' mouthiest member adds even more emotional oomph in a fitting closing chapter to ensure that Rocket's final flight (that we see anyway) goes out with a bang.