Since his debut in Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot has undergone some very drastic changes throughout his years in the MCU. Now James Gunn gives an explanation for the last of them

At first, Groot, the character that Vin Diesel lends his voice to, was a huge character; after he died, his was born again and we have seen him as a baby and then as a teenager in Avengers: Infinity War, Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder. However, in Guardians of the Galaxy Happy Holidays, Groot has undergone a tremendously drastic change compared to his last appearance. Since we see him become a more adult and extremely muscular Groot.

Now, James Gunn has helped to understand the reason for his new appearance in the Christmas special

In some Tweets after the premiere of Guardians of the Galaxy happy holidays director James Gunn explained the new look of the character. In response to a fan who “wondered if Groot’s head is so big because he’s still growing or is it because he is.” Director James Gunn offered an explanation. “Well, YA Groot, or Swoll Groot as we call it, is getting bigger, both outward and upward. As you can see now, he has a different, more robust physiology (and more outgoing personality) than his father.” When a fan praised the fact that the special chose to recreate Groot with practical effects instead of VFX, the director corrected him immediately. “Groot was created solely by our amazing VFX artists, but thank you (and I’m sure they find it useful and very encouraging!)” and mentioned the companies responsible for creating it, “Swoll Groot is 100% generated by computer thanks to the great people at @Framestore and @weta_digital.”

Well, YA Groot, or Swoll Groot, as we call him, is getting bigger, outward as well as upward. As you can see by now he has a different, stockier physiology (and a more outgoing personality) than his father did. #GuardiansoftheGalaxyHolidaySpecial https://t.co/AKPFBBFjzu— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 25, 2022

This drastic change of Groot with respect to his last appearance in Thor: Love and thunder also has another explanation, since the director also explained that the Christmas special takes place during the current events of Black Phanter: Wakanda forever, a year later. since the god of thunder decided to abandon the guardians to follow his own path. What do you think of Groot’s new look?