Sean Gunn, the actor who has crouched on set as Rocket Raccoon since 2014, says he has retired from the role’s motion-capture work and could not do it again.
Gunn, 50, told The Brandon Davis Show that the strain has landed on his feet and ankles, not his knees, as many assume. He spent years in a catcher’s crouch, pivoting on his points of contact with the ground, and said that took a toll on his body. Since turning 50 a couple of years ago, he said, he has considered himself finished with the part. Marvel has not called, but he does not think he could handle the motion reference if it did. “I’m too old,” he said, adding that stepping aside would also give a younger actor a chance.
The retirement covers only Rocket’s physical performance. Bradley Cooper voices the character, and nothing in Gunn’s comments changes that. Gunn served as the on-set stand-in, giving fellow actors someone to play against and giving animators movement to work from. He did so through the Guardians of the Galaxy films, the Avengers movies and Thor: Love and Thunder, ending with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2023. He also plays Kraglin, the Ravager who inherits Yondu’s role.
Marvel has announced no replacement and no next appearance for Rocket. Vol. 3 left the raccoon leading a new Guardians lineup, but no follow-up is in development, and only a closing promise that Star-Lord will return points to what comes next.
Gunn’s work has shifted to the DC Universe run by his brother James Gunn, who directed the Guardians trilogy and is now co-CEO of DC Studios. Sean Gunn voices Weasel and G.I. Robot in the animated series Creature Commandos, and he played Maxwell Lord in Superman (2025) and in the second season of Peacemaker.
If Rocket returns, a different performer will have to take the crouch.
