I Am Groot Director Kirsten Lepore Reveals Who Pitched Jeffrey Wright’s The Watcher For Season 2 (Exclusive)

Marvel’s latest batch of digital shorts surrounding the Guardians of the Galaxy’s infant sapling has arrived. I Am Groot Season 2 once again spotlights Baby Groot in adventures that are set around the time of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 but do not necessarily weave into proper Marvel Cinematic Universe canon. Regardless of this show’s status within the greater MCU, I Am Groot operates as a fairly inconsequential series, taking Baby Groot on three-minute side quests. That said, there are a couple moments that are more crucial than the rest, such as Rocket Raccoon’s brief cameo in I Am Groot Season 1.

Who Pitched The Watcher in I Am Groot Season 2?

I Am Groot Season 2 brings Jeffrey Wright’s The Watcher into the fold, his first appearance outside of the animated What If…? series. The Watcher was seen in a quick frame of I Am Groot Season 2’s teaser trailer which proves to be a small taste of his full role in the I Am Groot Season 2 finale.

Speaking to ComicBook.com’s Liam Crowley, I Am Groot director Kirsten Lepore recalled that story editor Ryan Little, who also served as the script coordinator on What If…?, was directly involved in bringing The Watcher into the fold.

“Our story editor Ryan Little works on What If…? and worked on it, I feel like since the beginning? He was very familiar with writing The Watcher and he was also very involved in like those initial log lines for a story,” Lepore said. “I can’t totally remember, but it must have been us thinking about, ‘Oh, how can we bring in some other interesting characters to this group world?’ Maybe Ryan had suggested it since he’s sort of What If…? meets the I Am Groot team in a way.”

Lepore teased that The Watcher was just one of many concepts that the I Am Groot team toyed with in the writers room.

“We threw out a lot of different ideas in that log line document,” Lepore continued. “I was so happy that they were really interested in trying it out because we definitely see The Watcher in a very different capacity than how we get to see him in a show like What If…?. It’s nice to infuse a little bit of comedy into that episode.”

What’s Next For The Watcher?

While The Watcher has only operated on Disney+ so far, there have been rumblings that Jeffrey Wright could suit up as the character in a future live-action project. With the MCU heading towards a massive multiversal conflict, The Watcher’s interdimensional status would warrant him getting involved down the line.

“We’ll see,” Wright told ComicBook.com this past June when asked about The Watcher’s live-action future.

I Am Groot Season 2 is now streaming on Disney+.