Fresh off of the humor and heart of Thor: Love and Thunder, the Marvel Cinematic Universe made plenty of waves at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever got its first trailer and teased the identity of the next Black Panther; Marvel Zombies was announced as Disney+'s first TV-MA series, and Kevin Feige confirmed release dates for Phases Five and Six of the MCU.All of that caused a considerable amount of stir at SDCC, but the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 also did its fair share of damage. Obliviously, fans have been looking forward to Will Poulter's ripped physique for a while, but director James Gunn also teased a bunch of other interesting tidbits. There was even footage that debuted the cutest thing to date in the MCU. So, here's a snapshot of the latest GotG3 news and the thing that's about to set the Internet on fire.
In the last few years, the entertainment industry has made one thing abundantly clear -- the Internet loves its fictional, non-human babies. Grogu is the ultimate example. He infused new life into the Star Wars franchise and ensured that The Mandalorian will be a fan-favorite series for years to come. Porgs from The Rise of Skywalker were another great example. However, Marvel actually capitalized on baby fever before Star Wars. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1's post-credit scene introduced the uber-cute Baby Groot, and Vol. 2 doubled down on the cuteness factor.Baby Groot worked out so well that Marvel is back at it with GotG3. The SDCC footage showed a brief glimpse of Baby Rocket, and the fans are already swooning. While the footage won't be made available to the public, images of the adorable fuzzball have been flooding the Internet. Unfortunately, though, Baby Rocket won't have a happy origin story, as James Gunn stated that Rocket has "got to be the saddest creature in the universe."Currently, Rocket's early history hasn't been defined in the MCU. Fans only know that his sentience has something to do with genetic enhancement and horrific experimentation. GotG3, however, will reportedly dive a lot deeper into the details. In fact, James Gunn confirmed that the reason he came back was to finish Rocket's story: "I have a special closeness to the character of Rocket, and I knew I needed to finish, to tell his story."
The SDCC panel also gave some big hints about Rocket's awful life. Chukwudi Iwuji showed up to the panel in full costume as the High Evolutionary. In the comics, the High Evolutionary wanted to find a way to make humanity evolve. So, he started by experimenting on animals and altering their DNA. Giving them sentience, he dubbed the soldier-like animals the Ani Men and moved on to human experimentation.
Exactly how all of that fits into the MCU is unknown, but it's clear that Rocket is going to have to face his past when the film debuts in May 2023. Either way, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is sure to have fans obsessed with Baby Rocket. The only question is whether he can become more popular than Grogu or Baby Groot.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to hit theaters in May 2023.