First Look At Baby Groot In Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2

Marvel Studios has released the first official look at Baby Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

One of the most remarkable things about 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy is that filmmaker James Gunn was so effective at tugging on our heartstrings with a humanoid plant with a very-limited vocabulary. I'm, of course, referring to the "We Are Groot" scene in which the Guardians are stuck inside of Ronin's damaged spacecraft, which is about to crash-land into Xandar. But before it does, Groot forms a nest around his new family, sacrificing himself to shield them from the impact.

Luckily, Rocket retrieved a sprig from the fallen hero and planted it. By the end of the film, a baby-sized version of Groot had sprouted and even danced to The Jackson 5 hit "I Want You Back."

When we see Baby Groot again in Vol. 2, he will have outgrown his pot, but he won't be all that much bigger. However, the real question is: Is this the same Groot we know and love?

"He doesn't have the wisdom and experience of that Groot," executive producer Jonathan Schwartz said in an interview. "He's a younger Groot and a more rambunctious Groot. The question is, is he the same Groot, just smaller? Or is he a different Groot that's sprung up from the seed of the first Groot?"

In the comics, this is a concept that's pretty clear-cut: in Annihilation: Conquest, Groot seemingly died twice, and each time was kept alive by one of his sprigs or shoots being saved and cared for by one of his teammates, allowing him to regrow.

Set to the backdrop of 'Awesome Mixtape #2,' Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team's adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill's true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes' aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is written and directed by James Gunn (Slither). The film marks the return of the original Guardians, including Chris Pratt (Jurassic World) as Peter Quill/Star-Lord; Zoe Saldana (Star Trek Into Darkness) as Gamora; Dave Bautista (Spectre) as Drax; Vin Diesel (Furious 7) as the voice of Groot; Bradley Cooper (American Sniper) as the voice of Rocket; Michael Rooker (Jumper) as Yondu; Karen Gillan (The Big Short) as Nebula; and Sean Gunn (Gilmore Girls) as Kraglin. New cast members include Pom Klementieff (Oldboy), Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby, Everest), Chris Sullivan (The Knick, The Drop) and Kurt Russell (The Hateful Eight, The Thing).

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is scheduled to hit theaters on May 5, 2017.