Credit: Inside the MagicAlthough Marvel Studios might be struggling with its upcoming cinematic escapades, that doesn’t mean fans are going without new content. As the strikes continue to rumble in Hollywood, multiple MCU projects are being put on hiatus or in the depths of development hell.
Along with the upcoming season 2 of Loki, Marvel buffs are also getting another trip aboard the Milano with everyone’s favorite Flora Colossus… and maybe a few extra friends along the way. Groot is back for another round of shorts on Disney’s streaming service, but he’s not alone.
Groot and the Marvel Multiverse
I Am Groot is a series of short films starring the beloved Baby Groot from the Guardians of the Galaxy series. Before Grogu/Baby Yoda stole the hearts of sci-fi fans everywhere, the young, reformed version of the giant tree-like creature was the king of Disney-owned cuteness.
While season two has been on streaming for a couple of weeks now, fans who tuned in might have noticed a familiar face amongst Groot’s excitable antics. In line with the Guardians canon, Marvel brought in not just a Watcher, but Uatu from Disney+’s What If..?
As demonstrated by the Watcher, the Marvel Multiverse is “a prism of unlimited possibilities.” By that logic, it was truly only a matter of time before Jeffery Wright’s enigmatic cosmic entity crossed paths with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Related: ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ Left Bradley Cooper In Tears
There is an obvious difference in tonal weight between What If…? and I Am Groot, but Wright’s performance was nothing short of MCU-worthy. Series director Kirsten Lepore shared her story of bringing the two unlikely elements together.
Lepore told Marvel her story about the recording process before and after Wright’s involvement,
“I was ecstatic to be able to work with Jeffrey Wright. He was incredible to record. And he brought such magic and such life to [The Watcher]. The funny bit is that before we got— because the recording usually happens at the end once everything’s like set in stone. So, before that just to be proof of concept for this episode, I had to record all the scratch for the Watcher and I obviously don’t sound like the Watcher. So, it wasn’t quite working.”
Lepore went on to say,
“It was a little hard to convince everyone like, hey, this is going to work you know even though I sound nothing like the Watcher. And then we recorded scratch again with one of the editors at Marvel, who does a good Watcher voice. We had him do it, but it was still like none of us were quite sure if it was going to work until Jeffrey got in the room and recorded. Then instantly, we were like, you just need the guy, you need the real guy. He just has a total magic touch that he put on it, and it was beautiful to see it come to life with his voice.”
Given the popularity of both series involved, this might be Marvel’s subtle way of hinting at future content. After all, when has a character cameo ever been that simple? Although Star-Lord, Rocket, and the rest had their last hurrah in Vol. 3, the studio might not be done with the team just yet.
Do you see these two crossing paths again? Tell Inside the Magic what you think in the comments below!