‘I Cried A Lot’: Bradley Cooper On Guardians Of The Galaxy Ending With Vol. 3 And Playing Rocket Raccoon For Over A Decade
Bradley Cooper voiced Rocket for five MCU movies, plus the Guardians Holiday Special.
![Rocket stands defiantly while surrounded by friends and fire in Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 3.](../external.html?link=https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7NhhxqABjkr54ARS5DrAdK-320-80.jpg)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a well-oiled machine, one that is constantly release new content either in theaters or streaming with a Disney+ subscription. One of biggest fan favorite franchise is definitely Guardians of the Galaxy, which came to a close following Guardians 3's ending. And Bradley Cooper reflected on the franchise ending, and voicing Rocket for over a decade.
The cast list Guardians of the Galaxy are truly iconic in their roles, and that includes voice actors like Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel. Reviews for Guardians 3 were overwhelmingly positive, especially in the way the titular heroes got their happy ending. Cooper spoke at the Santa Barbara Film Festival (via People) about his experience in the MCU, saying:
I love Rocket Raccoon so much. And I love doing that third one [Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3] because [that's] when James [Gunn] told me what was going to be the origin story. I just got so excited that I cried a lot.
How sweet is that? While Rocket is a character that means alot to Marvel fans, it sounds like the feelings are just as strong with Bradley Cooper himself. And it's a good thing he's got such a strong emotional bond, as Cooper would end up weeping hysterically during Guardians 3.
These comments help to offer a look behind the curtain on the MCU. There's clearly a ton of love for those within the Guardians world. Case in point: when the cast penned a letter in support of James Gunn.
Later in that same convention appearance, Cooper spoke about his collaborative relationship with Guardians writer/director James Gunn, who is the new co-CEO at DC. In the A Star Is Born actor's words:
It's the greatest, and James is wonderful, and we would do it like a play, actually. And we were trying to figure out how best to do it because I do the voice after the movie's already been shot, and first they would show scenes, and then eventually James would just read all the other parts, and we would do it like a play, and it was actually really fun.
The wild success of the Guardians franchise can definitely be linked to Gunn, who had a strong relationship with the source material and made the unknown group of charaters into fan favorites. Bradley Cooper was just as surprised as anyone by how long he and the crew have been playing their roles, saying:
It just kept on giving. Couldn't believe it. We made the first one. We'd never in a million years think I would play it for over a decade. It's crazy.
In the end that's exactly what happened, and Guardians of the Galaxy remains one of the most beloved properties in the MCU. But the third movie gave the group a happy ending, and it's unclear if we'll ever see them back on screen in an upcoming Marvel movie. Although it was confirmed that we'll see more of Chris Pratt's Star-Lord at some point.
The next MCU movie hitting theaters is Deadpool 3 on July 26th. In the meantime, check out the 2024 movie release dates.
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![Corey Chichizola](../external.html?link=https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/73oHQVEKvG2GF6Ps8iXwaM.jpeg)
Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.
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