Vin Diesel & Bradley Cooper Were Never On Thor or GOTG Sets, Says James Gunn
According to writer-director James Gunn, neither Vin Diesel nor Bradley Cooper has ever set foot on a Guardians of the Galaxy or Thor set. Gunn helped bring the Guardians of the Galaxy out of comic book obscurity to the heights of household names after writing and directing their first film in 2014. The team consisted of Chris Pratt's Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana's Gamora, Dave Bautista's Drax, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket, and Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot. Gunn endeared the Guardians to audiences across the globe with his unique brand of humor and heart, which made the film one of the MCU's most popular.
Gunn reassembled the team for 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which saw the team embracing new members in Pom Klementieff's Mantis, Karen Gillan's Nebula, and an expanded role for Michael Rooker's Yondu. Following their second film, the Guardians joined Earth's mightiest heroes in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Their next appearance is slated for Thor: Love and Thunder after leaving Earth with the God of Thunder himself at the conclusion of Endgame. As for their next self-titled adventures, Gunn is serving as both writer and director on the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
A concerned fan posed a question to Gunn on Twitter about Thor: Love and Thunder after noticing Diesel was in Australia for a movie, but Cooper was nowhere to be seen. The fan felt that Rocket might not appear in the film if Cooper wasn't on set. Gunn responded to the tweet by saying that neither Cooper nor Diesel has ever been on set for a Guardians of the Galaxy or Thor film, which keeps the mystery around the forthcoming films while also easing any possible concerns from fans. Check out Gunn's tweet below:
Click here to view the post on Twitter.
Given that both Groot and Rocket are CGI characters that Diesel and Cooper supply the voices for, their presence on set wouldn't be required. Gunn's brother and regular collaborator Sean Gunn has famously played Rocket on set for the Guardians of the Galaxy films. Likewise, Groot has been played on set by Polish actor Krystian Godlewski, with Sean Gunn also stepping in as the character in certain scenes. For big-name stars with busy schedules like Diesel and Cooper, having them on set would ultimately be unnecessary while also helping to ease their workloads. However, even with other CGI characters in the MCU, like Mark Ruffalo's Hulk or Josh Brolin's Thanos, the actors have appeared on set with motion capture rigs to get their performances in real-time, which can then be added to their CGI counterparts. The main difference is that Hulk and Thanos have human-like features that still resemble the actors, while Rocket, a raccoon, and Groot, a tree, don't.
The Guardians' next appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder is slated for July 8, though very little has been seen from the film. However, audiences will likely get their first glimpse of the movie around the time Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness debuts in May. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is also set to premiere on Disney+ this holiday season, followed by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in May 2023. So, while Diesel and Cooper have never been on set, audiences can rest assured that Rocket and Groot will likely appear in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy projects and Thor: Love and Thunder.
Source: Twitter