Through his work on the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, writer/director James Gunn managed to push creative boundaries within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He absolutely did that in the 2023 trilogy capper by delivering the series and the MCU’s first f-bomb. The character who had the honor of dropping the swear word was Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord, and it worked. Though some may have been surprised that the honor didn’t go to the bombastic Rocket Raccoon, especially given his journey in Vol. 3. Well, James Gunn revealed his take on that decision, and it makes a lot of sense.
Peter Quill says the word while he and the other Guardians are on Counter-Earth and are preparing to head towards the High Evolutionary’s starship. They’re forced to venture there in a ‘80s-era Chrysler, though Nebula (Karen Gillan) has trouble opening the door of the vintage car. Because Quill can remember how to do so, thanks to his childhood on Earth, he frantically attempts to instruct his teammate on how to do it. Quill eventually loses patience and tells his ally to just “open the fucking door.”
The sequence described above is comical, but at least one fan wondered if it could’ve happened amid a weightier moment. A user reached out to James Gunn on Threads, asking if he ever considered having Rocket utter the film’s sole f-bomb when finally accepting his identity as a raccoon. Gunn (who was determined to use the f-bomb) revealed that he never thought about having Rocket say the line, as he believes it might’ve “diminished” the impact of that major moment:
No I didn’t. I gave the line to Chris on the day. I found it fun to break that barrier in a throwaway situation where it didn’t matter as opposed to one where we were relying on the word for weight - I think Rocket accepting himself as who is is (raccoon by species, Rocket by choice - just as we’re all a mix of what fate’s given us and who we choose to be) is maybe the most important moment in the three films and it might have been diminished by everyone focusing on the F-word.
I understand this rationale completely. If Rocket were to have said it during that particular sequence near the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, viewers may indeed have focused more on the curse word than the character’s epiphany itself. That was a major moment, to say the least, and I agree that it possibly could’ve been undercut with the word “fuck.” This is simply why James Gunn is one of the sharpest directors in the industry. His aptitude for knowing what’s appropriate in a given scene and what isn’t is much appreciated.
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While some may be bummed that the gun-toting rodent didn’t get to drop the big f-bomb, many would probably agree that he certainly received his due in the threequel. Rocket’s origin story essentially served as the throughline for Vol. 3, and those experiences help him decide how to approach his future. As a whole, the film is more than a fitting send-off for the titular team, but it also does a lot for the raccoon, who James Gunn sees as the franchise’s “secret protagonist.”
Up until the film came out, Marvel Studios and Disney had only teased (or even censored) the use of the f-word in movies and TV shows like Iron Man 2, Spider-Man: Far From Home and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Now, it appears that the word could crop up a little more often, especially since, as the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer showed, the Merc with a Mouth is joining the MCU. At the end of the day though, James Gunn deserves kudos for not just being willing to go for it in his film but for also knowing the right time to drop it.
You can hear the f-bomb for yourself by grabbing a Disney+ subscription and streaming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. That same membership will also allow you to check out just about all of the Marvel movies in order.
