We all know The Guardians of the Galaxy, but do we really? Do we know know them? For example, while the relationship between Rocket and Groot is well-defined, their origin story together is not. We don’t really know how the homicidal raccoon and the sentient tree person met. Until now.
Guardians director and new co-head of DC Studios James Gunn recently revealed those details.
It all started with a question from a fan. He said, “Hello Mr. Gunn, now GOTG volume 3 is finished, do you mind to reveal who ‘tibius lark’ is? The name from GOTG1 nova corps scene. I think he is Groot’s friend or something?”
Gunn then wrote a lengthy missive and revealed that the start of Groot and Rocket’s relationship was almost a short film.
“It was even storyboarded & location scouted & we did test footage for it (it was seen at SDCC in the ‘trailer’ we cut together after 12 days of shooting). Unfortunately, the movie never came to fruition because “Vol 1 amped up,” he said.
He then set the scene: “In it Tibius Lark, Groot, and Rocket were all imprisoned in a deep well in the ground. Tibius was on the verge of dying. He explained to Rocket he had been caring for Groot for years.”
Can’t you just see it? Tibius Lark, he continued, “was a former zookeeper in a [bad] galactic-side zoo. He explained he had saved Groot, who was on exhibit there, & that Groot was a loyal friend. He asked Rocket to please take care of him, & then he died. As he died Rocket looked down in the dark cell & noticed he was a robot, the lower body of his body smashed open and mechanical.”
This should definitely be made — it sounds awesome. Here’s the climax of his three-part story:
“The guards above ground heard something rumbling & they turned & saw Rocket & Groot bursting up from the ground, Rocket on Groot’s shoulder, & in Rocket’s hands was a machine gun made from Tibius Lark’s body, & he shot all the guards & they escaped & were together until they met the Guardians. That’s who Tibius Lark was.”
It’s hard to state how much people want to see this now. Who wouldn’t? One commenter said: “Holy cow! This is an amazing (back)story. Marvel should have shot and released it as an one-shot with GOTG3 blu-ray. They still can. It would be so cool to see this on screen.”
Considering Gunn is at DC now, the chances of this getting made are not great. You never know, though. We’ll keep you posted.