Sean Gunn has revealed an unexpected update on his MCU future as Guardians of the Galaxy‘s Rocket Raccoon. The Hollywood star provided on-set motion capture and physical reference for the beloved character for nearly a decade in GOTG movies, with Bradley Cooper providing the voice.
In an interaction with Brandon Davis on his podcast, Sean Gunn said that he considers himself “retired” as Rocket Raccoon while disclosing a key reason. He pointed out the filming process he went through across multiple MCU projects, including the GOTG trilogy, that proved to be exhausting for his body over time.
Gunn said, “I’m doing a lot of pivoting in my ankles and feet and over the years I think it had a little bit of an effect on my physiology. My knees are fine, but since I turned 50 a couple years ago, I am retired from playing Rocket.”
He also clarified that Marvel hasn’t told him to step away from playing Rocket Raccoon. But he doesn’t think he “could do the motion reference anymore for Rocket. I think I’m too old.”
Sean Gunn’s comments come as Rocket Raccoon’s future remains an open question
When the third Guardians of the Galaxy movie came out three years ago, its story focused mostly on Rocket Raccoon’s character arc. Despite nearly dying due to a Kill Switch in his heart, he survived at the end of the film.
He freed many other captured raccoons before becoming the new leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy after Peter Quill/Star-Lord, played by Chris Pratt, stepped down and went back to Earth.
So far, Marvel has yet to confirm whether Rocket Raccoon will return in the MCU. Several unverified rumors have suggested that he may come back in Avengers: Doomsday.
However, fans should take all the early speculations and claims with a grain of salt unless there comes a proper update on the character’s fate in the superhero franchise.
