Baby Yoda has taken over pop culture, but he’s not the first wide-eyed alien tot in the Disney stable to achieve dominance through the sheer power of his cuteness. Guardians of the Galaxy’s Baby Groot arrived in all his marketable, money-printing splendor first. And according to the person who brought him into our lives, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, Baby Groot would tear Baby Yoda apart. James Gunn said:
I only know Baby Yoda as a character in memes. He looks just like a baby but Yoda so I imagine Baby Groot would tear him into pieces.
Ouch, what a truly horrific thought. While it might seem like James Gunn was dipping into controversy by firing shots at The Mandalorian’s great unifier of Star Wars fans, his take on Baby Groot tearing apart Baby Yoda was not an unprompted attack. James Gunn, who is currently working on The Suicide Squad for DC, was responding to a fan on Instagram who asked which of the two tykes would win in a fight.
So, always one to speak his mind, James Gunn gave his honest assessment of how Baby Yoda and Baby Groot would stack up in a fight. And, in a ‘How dare he!’-level response, James Gunn put the image of poor, sweet Baby Yoda being hurt into our heads. The director of the Guardians of the Galaxy films believes that the baby Flora colossus would easily tear the big-eared green baby of an indeterminate species to pieces in a fight.
While the thought of these two wondrous creatures fighting is terrible, James Gunn’s take on who would emerge victorious is not necessarily an educated one. James Gunn admitted that he hasn’t seen The Mandalorian yet (he is a little busy with The Suicide Squad) and only knows the character from memes, in which Baby Yoda currently holds the controlling market share.
So in assessing the contest, James Gunn is an expert on Baby Groot, but he hasn’t watched any film on Baby Yoda. He’s basically just going off of the character’s tale of the tape and how he looks, and figures he’s a can that Baby Groot should easily wipe the floor with. But a wise Jedi Master, and possible absentee father, once taught us that judging someone’s strength and ability by their size or looks alone is folly.
What James Gunn doesn’t know is that Baby Yoda’s ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. That said, Baby Groot, at least once he’s out of his pot, seems to have far better mobility than the waddling Baby Yoda. Groot also ages much more rapidly than the 50-year-old Baby Yoda and has a little bit better awareness.
Therefore, unless Baby Yoda breaks out the Force powers, he would probably lose a physical contest with Baby Groot. When it comes to cuteness though, as cute as Baby Groot is, I think Baby Yoda comes out on top.
Groot is growing up fast and was a teenager when last we saw him, so we probably won’t be seeing Baby Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but you can still catch Baby Yoda on The Mandalorian, now streaming on Disney+.
James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad opens in theaters on August 6, 2021. Check out our 2020 Release Schedule to see what movies are arriving next year and let us know who you think wins in the poll below.
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