In an episode of Disney+'s I Am Groot, a new series of animated shorts, Baby Groot (voiced again by Vin Diesel) finds himself in need of a flashlight. Since he is quite small, he reaches for a smart wristwatch and straps it to his head. It serves well as a flashlight, but of course, at a certain tense moment, we get the surprise of a sort-of recognizable voice emanating from the watch— the voice of Guardians of the Galaxy writer/director James Gunn, who is later credited as 'wrist watch voice.'

Now, this is more of a fun tidbit than a 'this changes the fate of the MCU' sort of fact, especially considering that earlier this summer, James Gunn pointed out on Twitter that because I Am Groot is a fully animated series, these episodes are not a part of the Guardians of the Galaxy film saga, but are instead "canon to themselves, I'd think."

They’re canon to themselves, I’d think.

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) June 5, 2022

This distinction is interesting, as we also see a cameo of another character that we're used to seeing in the live action films (who also happens to be animated)—Rocket Racoon, who is voiced by Bradley Cooper in the short. So, while I Am Groot is not directly part of the Guardians canon (the third film is scheduled to release May 5, 2023), it certainly shares a lot of visual, character, and voice actor similarities.

I Am Groot debuts on Disney+ on August 10.

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