Rocket Raccoon Doesn't Say Marvel's First F-Bomb For An Oddly Heartwarming Reason

"The Marvels" may be considered the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first bomb, but it isn't its only one. The franchise has another in the form of James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" — albeit a verbal one. Pushing the boundaries of its PG-13 rating, the film sees Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) frustratedly telling Nebula (Karen Gillan), "Open the f***ing door," as the cyborg struggles to get into a car. It's the first time the (mostly) family-friendly franchise drops the f-bomb.

Even more surprising is that the foulmouthed Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) isn't the one to mark the historic occasion. Over on Threads, user @ohrocco asked Gunn if he had ever considered giving the honor to Rocket, suggesting that the character could have said it during his final encounter with the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji).

"No I didn't," Gunn replied. "I found it fun to break that barrier in a throwaway situation where it didn't matter as opposed to one where we were relying on the word for weight – I think Rocket accepting himself as who [he] is (raccoon by species, Rocket by choice – just as we're all a mix of what fate's given us and who we choose to be) is maybe the most important moment in the three films and it might have been diminished by everyone focusing on the F-word."

Gunn's logic is sound and inspired, especially when one acknowledges that "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is essentially Rocket's story and that using the f-word would have taken away from his emotional development.

It's not difficult to imagine what a Rocket f-bomb could have looked like. After all, there are a dozen instances where the character could have uttered it out of frustration. But instead, James Gunn chose not to make a big deal out of it, with Quill casually throwing it in what is already a hilarious moment. "That was not scripted," Chris Pratt told the Toronto Sun about the f-bomb. "I think James told me to try saying that and I tried it and it made it in."

While it shouldn't come as a shock that Gunn and Pratt tried to sneak in the f-word, it's surprising that Disney approved it. But the "Guardians of the Galaxy" director told Joe.ie that Kevin Feige said he was okay with it as long as Gunn was fine with it being a part of his legacy. "And I said, 'Kevin, if you think you're scaring me away instead of just enticing me even more to put this in the movie, you're crazy,'" he said. "And then he laughed his ass off."