LEGENDARY STAR-LORD WILL RETURN

idk if this is canon, but i've seen some folks online say that the groot we see from vol. 2 and beyond is more like OG groot's "son", hence why he's reborn as a baby and his dynamic with rocket is much more of a father and son relationship than their original friendship, or perhaps a brotherly bond.

it's interesting that in the very beginning we see rocket mocking groot for "whining" over his lost limbs, claiming that they'll grow again... but groot's sacrifice later on is indeed a sacrifice. he straight up dies. a baby groot might be born by the end of the first movie, but he's not just a tiny version of the same groot. he's a whole other groot that grows up with other life experiences and other people. we see that rocket doesn't treat groot like he does the original groot, for that matter. it's rlly like he's adopted his dead friend's child.

i'm saying all this bc i still see some ppl complain that they miss the old groot, or that they don't understand why the current groot is not like the debut one. like, i can kind of get the feeling, i especially feel this way about gamora because she RLLY didn't need to be killed off (even if i deeply appreciate vol. 3 for respecting her character and not just making her end up with quill like she was the same gamora), but i feel that groot's case is a whole other case.

groot's death makes sense with the franchise. the whole premise is around a group of ppl who have lost someone. it's entirely about death, trauma and grief. groot not coming back as the same groot means that the death had its consequences. that even if the person returns, they're not going to be the same. nothing is going to be the same. even then, rocket never once stops taking care of groot, and the other guardians all become his parental figures, too. of course, the original groot should never be forgotten, but the guardians need to be there for the groot that is now with them, which is the whole theme of vol. 2: parenting.