Does ‘I Am Groot’ Connect to ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’?

Marvel’s new animated series I Am Groot gives MCU fans exactly what they want: nonstop hijinks from Baby Groot. All five of the five-minute shorts drop the littlest Guardian of the Galaxy into scenarios with small stakes but big potential for adventure. Groot travels to alien worlds, gets a makeover, and nearly wrecks their ship while chasing his artistic inclinations. It’s a fun little series — but is it canon?

Y’know, does it matter? Okay, it seems weird to ask if an incredibly charming all-ages series takes place in the same cinematic universe that Thanos nearly conquered. But since one of the major selling points of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the interconnectedness, it’s a question worth asking! So…

Is I Am Groot in MCU canon?

I don’t see why not — but Guardians of the Galaxy helmer James Gunn sure does. In an Instagram Q&A, Gunn directly addressed this question by saying, “Some folks at Marvel seem to think it’s canonically MCU. I find that hard to see myself.” One of those folks at Marvel is none other than Brad Winderbaum, the head of Streaming, Television, and Animation at Marvel Studios. He’s gone on record as saying that not only is I Am Groot canon, but it specifically takes place between the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and the first post-credits scene of Vol. 2. That would make sense as GOTGv2 marked Baby Groot’s first feature-length outing, and then he aged into being a teenager during one of the post-credits scenes of that movie.

However, there’s another opinion at play in the ongoing saga of whether or not these 25 minutes of a baby tree running amok are MCU canon: the Disney+ synopses for I Am Groot short “Groot’s First Steps” says it takes place “following the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1” — which makes sense because that film ends with Baby Groot waking up in his pot and dancing, and “Groot’s First Steps” begins with him breaking out of the pot. The other shorts, particularly “Groot’s Pursuit” and “Magnum Opus,” have to take place in the sweet spot at the end of Vol. 2 that Winderbaum mentioned. Why? Because Groot is seen running around on the Quadrant, which is the ship the Guardians acquired at the end of that film.

Ultimately whether or not you count I Am Groot as part of MCU canon is up to you. It seems like the official line from Disney and Marvel Studios is that it is canon. This is backed up by the fact that while the series is animated, Groot and the environments are animated in the same style and with the same realism that’s used in the live-action Marvel movies. Also, nothing in I Am Groot directly contradicts continuity so, y’know, have at it. Slot this into your MCU rewatches if you feel so compelled.

So, does I Am Groot connect to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?

Regardless of canon, we know for sure that I Am Groot does not connect to GOTGv3 because Groot is no longer a toddler tree. So if you count I Am Groot as part of MCU canon, then it takes place during the first two Guardians movies (which, reminder, take place back-to-back in the timeline).

And come on — why wouldn’t you want I Am Groot in the MCU? The canon needs some cuteness!