Groot, the loveable tree-like from Guardians of the Galaxy, is a favorite among many fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so when director James Gunn clarified that Baby Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is the son of the original Groot on Twitter today, well, people just weren’t having it.
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It all started with a question about who you would save between a Porg from Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Groot. Gunn made the case that you’d have to choose Groot, but ET’s Ash Crossan suggested that you should save the Porg because Groot could simply regenerate and that’s when things went off the rails. Gunn replied that “First Groot is dead. Baby Groot is his son,” stunning fans on Twitter with the reveal that Baby Groot is really Groot, Jr.
The idea that Baby Groot isn’t the same as the original Groot isn’t exactly new information. Despite Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige’s comments at San Diego Comic Con in 2016 that the two Groots were one and the same, Gunn took to Facebook last fall to clarify that the original Groot is a separate entity from Baby Groot and that original Groot is, in fact, totally dead. That Baby Groot is his son, however, is new and while that’s a pretty big surprise itself, fans were still having a hard time wrapping their mind around the idea that Groot was dead. While some could accept what Gunn was saying, many others are still unwilling to believe that Baby Groot is a completely separate entity — and they had no trouble responding to Gunn on Twitter with almost all of the stages of grief.
Read on for the internet’s reaction to the death of Groot…again.
@ThirdPrice
Stop saying that! pic.twitter.com/WIsrcdHt5o
— What Steve Said (@ThirdPrice) February 27, 2018
@jeggerly
It really was goodbye *sob* pic.twitter.com/rUqxcG2vt5
— jeggerly (@jeggerly) February 27, 2018
@briantruitt
I’ll be over here in the fetal position after all this talk of dead Groots and porgs. pic.twitter.com/vcE2brnPL3
— Brian Truitt (@briantruitt) February 27, 2018
@blvkrice
— eric ill-monger (@blvkrice) February 27, 2018
@Gyloir
Well, to be fair Kevin Feige said it was the same Groot and he’d eventually remember, and you said before it was “complicated” so many people assumed it was still “groot” himself but he was re-growing and didn’t remember everything.
— Jeremiah G (@Gyloir) February 27, 2018
@CarrieCnh12
Makes sense to me scientifically, but I prefer to think Baby/ Teen Groot is the first Groot. It’s how I console myself over his loss. pic.twitter.com/E46KtZAe6a
— CarolynH. #WakandaForever?? (@CarrieCnh12) February 27, 2018
@MsQueen03
For me it’s just brings back his traumatic and heroic death ???
— Queen Althea (@MsQueen03) February 27, 2018
@2andahalflife
Old Groot died? pic.twitter.com/3Xmw4K3yJy
— Tay K Max Payne (@2andahalflife) February 27, 2018
@Velvet_Rose
I still need to know if everyone in the groot debris covered area could pick up a stick and grow their own Groot pic.twitter.com/S09bJIaPxy
— Juliette (@Velvet_Rose) February 27, 2018
Groot (apparently Groot, Jr) will next appear as a teenager in Avengers: Infinity War which opens in theaters May 4th.
