Guardians 3’s Sean Gunn won’t play Rocket again — but Kraglin might return

James Gunn has been working on the Guardians of the Galaxy series since its inception. The trilogy of films include some classic Marvel characters, but reinvent them for Gunn’s career-long theme about misfits finding their comfort zones and building found families. With Gunn moving on to co-lead DC’s movie operation, this summer’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 It’s goodbye to this iteration. As a teaser in the post-credits cards suggests, this might not be the end of the stories for these characters within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

What does that mean for James’ brother Sean? Sean Gunn has been in all three Guardians movies as Kraglin, sidekick to former Ravager leader Yondu (Michael Rooker), and inheritor of Yondu’s Yaka Arrow, the whistle-controlled weapon that repeatedly crops up in the trilogy. Sean is also the on-set actor for Rocket Raccoon, the CG character voiced by Bradley Cooper, both in Gunn’s films and in crossovers like Thor – Love and ThunderThe Avengers films

Sean Gunn has been a TV and movie actor for more than 25 years — he tells Polygon that his favorite role was in Gilmore Girls, as quirky Stars Hollow resident Kirk Gleason — but he’s also been closely associated with his brother’s work, often taking multiple roles in James’ projects. Would he want to carry on as either Rocket or Kraglin now that his brother’s moved away from Marvel?

“It’s been 10 years I’ve been doing this, and the physical part of playing Rocket is something I know I need to retire from after this movie,” Gunn says. “It’s hard on my feet and ankles. [Playing him]This is a really tough challenge. And it’s gotten harder as I got older. I was up for it, I was glad I was able to do it, I’m fortunate I was able to be there for it. But that’s something I’m happy to say goodbye to.”

Image: Marvel Studios

Kraglin, on the other hand, he’d be happy to see return in a later Marvel movie. “I certainly never close any doors when it comes to that kind of thing,” he says. “I love telling great stories, and if there’s a way to get in on another great story, I’d certainly be open to it. There’s a sadness to completing James’ incarnation of the Guardians. But the Guardians are still alive, and the idea of the Guardians — what they stand for, in terms of finding family anywhere, and sticking up for the little guy, and ‘we’re all in this together’ — that idea lives on, and lives on strongly, so there’s always more.”

Sean sat with Polygon after the premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3He will discuss his experiences on set as Rocket and where he would like to see Kraglin going from here. Most importantly, he’ll ask if he could whistle just as well as Kraglin who comes to his own as a character in the latest installment.

[Ed. note: This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.]

Polygon : Rocket is a major character and has gone through a lot in the movie. Was your performance this time different from before?

Sean Gunn So in the previous movies, what I do is — the technical term is motion reference. Which means they don’t put me in the suit with all the colored stripes and balls and things like that — I’m just wearing a regular tracksuit. Rocket is animated based on my actions by the visual effects crew. But it’s not done digitally.

We used traditional motion capture in this movie because the young Rocket is interacting with animals of similar size. As I had the motion-capture suit on I was able interact with Linda Cardellini. [as Lylla the otter]And the other actors. When Rocket’s in the cage, we’re really shooting all that stuff, and fully capturing those performances digitally. The technical side was slightly different.

In terms of performance, I did what I do every time. This one is maybe a little more emotional than the other ones, but that’s part of it.

Image: Marvel Studios

James does he work differently with you for a role on screen and one that is based off of a reference?

No, not really. In every way, the differences are small. So when I’m doing motion-reference for Rocket, I’m basically just playing the role on set with the other actors. I’m primarily there for them so when they look into Rocket’s face, they’re looking at a responsive pair of eyes, not a tennis ball on a stick, or empty space. And then I’m there for the visual effects team, so they have a jumping-off point for the animation — they know where Rocket’s looking, what his hands are doing, and where he’s moving in space, along with these other characters. This stuff can be altered in post-production if needed. Sometimes it isn’t, but a lot of it is.

The only difference in how James will work with me as an actor is that we know that there’s more flexibility with Rocket, because you can still tweak and adjust it as it goes along. The performance is only one part of what we see finally on screen, whereas with Kraglin, or any character that’s on screen, that’s most of it — once you capture it, it’s there, you’re not going to tweak it too much. In terms of preparation I always prepare for every role. Both roles are equally important to me.

Are you more comfortable in one role? You put them on in different roles?

I certainly identify more with Kraglin, because it’s me — it’s my voice and my face. Anytime you play a character on screen, there’s some part of you inside them. So there’s a much larger part of me in the final product of Kraglin, whereas Rocket, I feel a little bit more like a shepherd of sorts. I’m one member of the relay-race team that creates the character. James passes the baton to me and I then pass it on to the visual effect team. They then pass it onto Bradley Cooper who is the anchor and puts it all together.

Is there anything you’d particularly want to see Kraglin do at this point, in someone else’s Marvel movie?

We’ve seen Kraglin get his sea legs in terms of being able to be a contributor. I’m curious to see where that would go, and how he could help with some of the other shenanigans that go on in the galaxy, and in the Marvel universe. But one of the things I love about being an actor is that I don’t have to think about that part of the storytelling, I let the writers take over, and then step in and do what I can. Fortunately, I don’t have to write the next one.

Photos: the Riker Brothers

There are many wonderful actors that have been part of the franchise. Is there anyone you’d really love to get a scene with?

Oh, gosh, yeah — that list is enormous. I’m fortunate in that some of the work I’ve done as Rocket, doing motion capture in six movies, meant that I got to be on set during the Avengers movies, and work with all these phenomenal actors. It was a great experience to be on the set of all these actors. But there’s always more. Would love to have a scene done with Black Panther, or Ant-Man. This would be amazing. It would be great.

What’s your whistling ability? Would you be able to control the high-tech Whistle-arrow yourself?

[Laughs] I’m OK. My best is good, and some of my work works. However, I would like to have a little help from the audio team in order for it to be really effective. But you know, I do OK. I’m not embarrassing. Although, you know, what’s funny is, Michael Rooker, who plays Yondu, he believes that all of the whistling he does in the [Guardians]It is my understanding that the movie isn’t his. At least now I can get help.