Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: James Gunn Shares Adorable Baby Rocket Test Footage

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director James Gunn has shared a clip of baby Rocket test footage and another of Rocket’s childhood friend rabbit that will both warm your heart and probably worry you about what’s most likely to come for these two.

Gunn took to Twitter to share the clips from Framestore, a company that helped with the visual effects for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and the first one is just about eight seconds of baby versions of Rocket and Lylla, a sapient otter, playing before he gets up and walks toward the camera.

Baby #RocketGG test footage from @Framestore UK for #GotGVol3 pic.twitter.com/x187OZ45rW

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) May 1, 2023

We’ve seen baby Rocket in the trailers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and we’ve known since the first film that he had a bunch of experiments done on him to make him into who he is when he is first introduced.

The second clip is of Rocket’s childhood friend and cellmate Floor the rabbit, who is played by Mikaela Hoover in the movie. This one is a little more disturbing as the cute rabbit has mechanical spider legs, a mechanical muzzle of sorts over their mouth, and antennae.

Test footage of Rocket’s childhood friend & cellmate Floor by @framestore, character played by Mikaela Hoover. #GuardiansoftheGalaxyVol3 only in theaters this Friday. #gotgvol3 #floor pic.twitter.com/boqj4l5Rh6

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) May 2, 2023

We don’t have long to wait to see Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and baby Rocket in action as it opens in theaters on May 5, 2023.

In our Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 review, we said, “The Guardians of the Galaxy deliver their swan song in Vol. 3 and it’s a rockin’ good time. Rocket’s tragic origins, great action and effects, and James Gunn’s soulful style send them out on an emotional high note.

For more, check out how many post-credits scene this third film has, how Rocket is the “secret protagonist of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and our explainer on the villainous High Evolutionary.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.