A popular Marvel actor has announced he is retiring from his long-running role as an iconic character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Sean Gunn, 52, has provided the motion-capture for Rocket Raccoon in six movies and one television special. He will not reprise the role again.
Gunn, who first played the character in 2014’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” has also provided motion-capture for Thanos, voiced a younger version of Rocket Raccoon, and played Kraglin Obfonteri in the blockbuster franchise.
The younger brother of “Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn, Sean Gunn has also played several characters in his sibling’s DC movies, including Weasel and Calendar Man in 2021’s “The Suicide Squad,” and Maxwell Lord in 2025’s “Superman.”
He announced his retirement in a conversation with podcast host Brandon Davis on the Monday, September 21 episode of “The Brandon Davis Show.”
Sean Gunn Says He’s ‘Too Old’ to Keep Playing Rocket Raccoon
In his chat with Sean Gunn, Brandon Davis discussed the role of Rocket Raccoon with the actor.
Davis asked Gunn, “I’ve seen videos of you doing the Rocket mo-cap. Does that hurt after a while?”
Gunn replied concisely and emphatically, “Um, yes!”
The actor went on, “Everyone thinks it’s my knees, but it was really my feet and my ankles.”
He elaborated, “Because I’m like in a catcher’s crouch and I’m pivoting a lot on my points of contact into the ground. I’m doing a lot of, like, pivoting in my ankles and feet, and, um, over the years it was… I think I’ve had a little bit of an effect on my physiology. My knees are fine, but I am, since I turned 50 a couple of years ago, like, I am retired from… from, um, playing Rocket. Uh, you know, not that they’ve called, but if they did, I don’t… I don’t think I could do the motion reference for Rocket, I think I’m too old.”
Davis then suggested that retiring from the role would be good for Gunn’s ankles, prompting the actor to agree with a “Yeah,” before generously adding, “Well it’ll also give a younger actor a shot at it, right?”
It remains to be seen whether or not Rocket Raccoon will even return to the MCU. However, with ensemble projects like this year’s “Avengers: Doomsday” and next year’s “Avengers: Secret Wars” looming, it seems likely that he will. It will, therefore, be interesting to see who takes over Gunn’s role doing motion-capture for the character.
Gunn Helped to Make Rocket Raccoon Incredibly Popular
GettyPrior to Rocket Raccoon’s MCU debut in 2014’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the character was barely known beyond die-hard Marvel comic book readers.
However, he is now one of the most popular movie characters of recent times. Voiced brilliantly by Bradley Cooper, Gunn’s excellent motion-capture performances undoubtedly aided that popularity.
Rocket Raccoon’s nature means he is ideal for merchandise and, since Disney’s acquisition of Marvel Studios in 2009, he has become the perfect plush toy to sell in Disney stores.
Specifically, the six movies in which he appeared are 2014’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” 2017’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” 2018’s “Avengers: Infinity War,” 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame,” 2022’s “Thor: Love and Thunder,” and 2023’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” He also appeared in Disney+’s “The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” in 2022.
As for Gunn, he still has plenty of upcoming work in the pipeline. He will voice several characters in the DC animated series “Creature Commandos” and star in comedy movie “Backseat Drivers,” slasher horror flick “Cotton Eye Joe,” and the indie drama film “Close Enough to Burn.”
We wish him all the very best with his future (post-Rocket Raccoon) career.
Sean Gunn’s filmography info was courtesy of IMDb.
