Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3: James Gunn Confirms That Touching Groot Detail

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" isn't just the third entry in one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most beloved franchises. It's also the final installment in the MCU trilogy that writer-director James Gunn began nearly 10 years ago in 2014. The film, consequently, brings a lot of the "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy's core ideas and themes full circle and even fulfills some of the promises made by Gunn's previous MCU efforts. Indeed, not only does "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" finally reveal the tragic backstory of Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), but it also sends many of its heroes off on their own, separate adventures.

Before the film breaks up its eponymous team, though, it makes time for one final, touching conversation between the cosmic franchise's core cast members. Their cathartic conversation is, notably, punctuated by the shocking moment when viewers hear Groot (Vin Diesel) tell his fellow Guardians, "I love you guys." Outside of one climactic moment in 2014's "Guardians of the Galaxy," the touching "Vol. 3" scene marks the first time that viewers have ever heard Diesel's Groot say anything other than his trademark line, "I am Groot."

According to Gunn, viewers aren't meant to leave "Vol. 3" thinking Groot has learned how to say a new phrase, either. Instead, the moment is meant to signify that longtime MCU viewers have officially become members of the Guardians' found family, which means they can now understand everything Groot says.

James Gunn recently confirmed the meaning of the game-changing Groot scene at the end of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" on Twitter. In response to a fan's request that he comment on the then-unconfirmed theory, Gunn wrote, "Yes that's exactly what it means."

Taking Gunn's confirmation into account, it's hard to overstate the significance of Groot's final line in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3." Ever since the first "Guardians of the Galaxy" was released, there have been running jokes in the MCU about the fact that very few people can understand Groot. In fact, even though most of the characters in "Vol. 3" have known him long enough to understand him, the film's recently resurrected version of Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is left confused nearly every time Groot speaks. Thankfully, by the time the film comes to an end, Gamora has started to get on Groot's wavelength again.

All of this is to say that Gunn's decision to dissolve Groot's language barrier in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is just one of many instances in the film in which the director finally ties off a thread that he himself first introduced all the way back in 2014. It's not hard to see why Gunn chose to do so, either, especially considering that "Vol. 3" is the last MCU project he will purportedly helm ahead of his forthcoming, permanent relocation to Warner Bros. Discovery and the studio's DC Cinematic Universe.