I Am Groot seems to have just changed MCU canon by suggesting that Baby Groot remembers his past life in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Released on Disney+, I Am Groot is a series of shorts about Baby Groot’s adventures as he grows up alongside the Guardians. Although all the shorts focus on Groot as a child, they take place at different points across the MCU timeline, spread between Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and Avengers: Infinity War. With Marvel labeling the shorts as part of MCU Phase 4, one episode of the series appears to ret-con Baby Groot's connection to the original Groot.

The possibility of I Am Groot being in the MCU timeline is important due to the events in season 1, episode 5, “Magnum Opus.” In this final short of the first season of the series, Groot scavenges for art supplies around the Guardians of the Galaxy’s ship. With these supplies, he is able to create a family portrait of the Guardians. This drawing depicts a giant version of Groot using his arms to encircle his family, including Rocket, Star-Lord, Gamora, and Drax.

Baby Groot’s picture resembles adult Groot’s final sacrifice at the end of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Groot grew into a giant sphere to encase the rest of the Guardians as the spaceship that they were on crashed. While this saved his friends, Groot died from the impact. The drawing of Groot's long branch arms surrounding the other Guardians is reminiscent of this event, hinting that Baby Groot might have retained some memories of adult Groot's life. In this way, I Am Groot might have contradicted the previously established MCU canon, confirmed by James Gunn, which has always held that Baby Groot did not remember events experienced by the original Groot.

Why Baby Groot Has No Memories from Guardians of the Galaxy

Although it is unclear if I Am Groot is MCU canon, some facts have been established about Baby Groot, including his memories, in the past. When directly asked if Baby Groot remembered any events before the end of Guardians of the Galaxy, the movie's writer-director, James Gunn, stated simply, “No. He has no memories of adult Groot.” This led many viewers to wonder why Baby Groot did not remember his past life, given that he grew from twigs from adult Groot that Rocket gathered and planted. According to Gunn, “First Groot is dead. Baby Groot is his son.” This means that Baby Groot is a different character than the original Groot, proving that Baby Groot does not remember adult Groot’s life even if his drawing seems to suggest otherwise.

While the other characters’ reactions to Groot’s picture reinforce that Baby Groot has no earlier memories, they also reveal the hidden importance of the drawing. Baby Groot is excited by his creation, which represents a family hug rather than adult Groot’s rescue. In contrast, Rocket speaks in a nostalgic tone when Baby Groot hands him the picture. He immediately comments, “Oh, look how big you are,” signaling that the picture reminds him of his old friend. In this way, Baby Groot’s drawing in I Am Groot is a poignant reminder of his origin without breaking canon about his memories of the past. But considering James Gunn has denied I Am Groot canonically links to his Guardians of the Galaxy movies, despite Marvel's claim it's part of MCU Phase 4, none of the clarification matters anyway.

Disney+'s I Am Groot is a little bit out of Marvel's current timeline, as it is the five bite-size episode story of a growing Groot, set before the events of the first Guardians of the Galaxy. It is a series that stands on its own, even if it may be considered canon, but also the first Marvel Cinematic Universe show that is fully a comedy. However, the series embraces that genre by defining Groot as an emoji.

Groot has been seen growing back into adulthood after James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, but his baby figure became somewhat cute and iconic. The MCU decided to give the character another chance, stepping back in the timeline to his even younger self, tiny and adorable, and considered canon to itself. Kirsten Lepore was chosen to direct the small-episode run, a veteran in animation with Cartoon Network's Adventure Time. The spinoff series also sees the return of Vin Diesel to voice the younger Groot, and a short cameo by Gunn.

In a conversation with Empire magazine, Lepore explains how I Am Groot is a tonal departure for the studio, even with major films playing up a lot of comedic moments throughout the MCU's four Phases. "There aren't a lot of comedy shows on the Marvel animation roster, so even though they are shorts, we really got to play up how funny they are," she explains. Comedy in the MCU has recently been discussed with the silliness in Thor: Love and Thunder and how Taika Waititi approached his vision of the god of thunder's storyline.

"As much as it's still Groot and he's still cute, he's also a little bad baby who's very mischievous," continues Lepore, also saying it was an opportunity to explore a different side of the MCU by approaching quintessential scenarios of a normal growing child, while getting a chance to "just go wild and make it weird and rude and sci-fi." Each episode will address things like bath-time, dressing up, drawing, etc. The series will also keep its soundtrack in the 1960s and '70s, but while Peter Quill's mixtape in Guardians was purely American, the series turns global with South American and African tunes.

Before production, the director also spent some time with James Gunn discussing Groot's character, and she recalls him saying that Groot is essentially an emoji. In an era that is so reliant on emojis to show our own feelings and states of mind, Groot appears as a cute figure with not much more than two eyes and a mouth, making his simple nature quite relatable. "It's the bare minimum of what you need for a lot of expression," she adds. Groot's simple expressions will undoubtedly create the funniest moments for whatever situation he might be in.

With Bradley Cooper's Rocket Racoon confirmed as a cameo, Lepore also teases a James Gunn Easter egg and references "his fellow Guardians who may or may not make an appearance," leaving fans, who are already craving Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3, even more hyped.

I am Groot is available to stream on Disney+.

Marvel Studios has released an official trailer for I Am Groot, the upcoming series of animated shorts set to drop on Disney+ in August.

Consisting of five shorts, I Am Groot is slated to premiere on Disney+ on Wednesday, Aug. 10. The trailer, released during San Diego Comic-Con 2022, offers a glimpse at the various antics Baby Groot will get up to in the series, including becoming a god-like figure to a race of tiny, adorable aliens; putting his (apparent) knowledge of explosives to use; and more.

Whilst the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy prepare for what will be a jam-packed 2023, their fellow Flora Colossus, Groot, is prepping for his own adventure. I Am Groot is a Guardians spin-off set to debut later this year on Disney+, focusing on Baby Groot, as he gets up to all sorts of intergalactic shenanigans. 

Announced back in December 2020, I Am Groot will offer up bite-sized doses of the MCU fandom's favorite walking flora. The project is being helmed by Canadian film director Ryan Little, who is serving as head writer on the series. And Kirsten Lepore, of Adventure Time fame, will take her place in the director's chair. 

Not too much is known about the pint-sized Marvel series, but recent news has determined exactly when the world will end up seeing it. 

I Am Groot Gets a Release Date

Marvel Studios unveiled the release date for I Am Groot, alongside a new poster for the upcoming Disney+ series. 

The Groot-centric collection of streaming shorts will debut on the service on August 10, with the project centered on "Baby Groot’s glory days growing up, and getting into trouble among the stars," according to its new synopsis.