Bradley Cooper Returns To Marvel For First Time Since Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3
While the ending of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" was an emotional rollercoaster, the final shot of the new Guardians left the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe fanbase wanting to see more of Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), Groot (Vin Diesel), and the rest of the team. Thankfully, it didn't take long for Rocket and Groot to return to the MCU, but you might want to lower your expectations.
With the recent release of "I Am Groot" Season 2, Cooper makes a brief, yet triumphant return to Rocket Raccoon, voicing the beloved character in a single episode of the short-form children's series. Fans can find Cooper's quick cameo in the mid-credits scene of Season 2, Episode 3, "Groot's Snow Day." After defeating the murderbot snowman, Baby Groot finally gets to his cup of hot chocolate on the Guardians' ship, only to exclaim and slap it away. Unfortunately, it seems to hit Rocket, and audiences can hear him scream, "Ah, dude!" before the credits reveal the return of Cooper.
Despite returning for the voiceover role, Rocket never appears on screen in "I Am Groot," and it's still up for debate whether or not the shorts are canon to the overall MCU, but it is something. Thankfully, those itching to hear Cooper as Rocket once more don't have to commit much to the series, as the "I Am Groot" Season 2 runtime clocks in around 15 minutes, with Cooper's return coming at the end of a 4-minute episode.
Where could Rocket return for real?
Although Bradley Cooper reprising his role as Rocket Raccoon in "I Am Groot" Season 2 is a pleasant surprise, it isn't the proper return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe that fans are anticipating. So when exactly could that happen?
At this point, it's hard to say, as the ending of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" certainly teased more adventures on the horizon for the new team, but without an official confirmation of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 4," or some form of a sequel, all eyes turn to the next team-up movies, "Avengers: The Kang Dynasty" and "Secret Wars," for their most likely return. Theoretically, Rocket could return outside those films in a project like "The Marvels," given that the movie further explores the cosmic side of the MCU. Granted, no information suggests this is the case, but it's not out of the realm of possibilities for Rocket to appear in the film's post-credits scene, teasing yet another future cameo.
Another option could be that Rocket finds a home on Disney+. It wouldn't drop anytime soon, but "I Am Groot" director Kirsten Lepore told ComicBook.com that she'd love to explore more of Rocket within the animated shorts format, saying, "What would a Rocket one look like? You know, baby raccoon stories?" The concept could explore a young Rocket's adventures after he escapes the High Evolutionary, bringing more light-hearted stories to the character's emotional backstory. All we need to see is a young Rocket meet a Baby Groot, with both Cooper and Vin Diesel returning as their respective characters.