Rocket Raccoon and his past is going to play a big part in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, according to director James Gunn.

Yesterday's movie screened was Marvel Studios' first Guardians of the Galaxy film and of course, Gunn joined in on the fun. During the watch party, a twitter user asked Gunn about Rocket's origin being looked at in Guardians 3, and Gunn shared a nice tidbit:

`I'll just say Rocket is a big part of what's happening in the future - and a lot of this stuff (like the scars we're about to see on his back) sets up what I've been planning for Rocket all along.`

In the comics, Rocket Raccoon originated in a far-away planet called Halfworld - a colony for the mentally ill. Rocket was one among the several anthropomorphic animals who were genetically altered to have human-level intelligence and skills, to take care of the inmates. In the films, Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) doesn't like discussing his past, but scars on his back shown briefly in the first Guardians film shows us he has been through some pain and torture.

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`I'll just say Rocket is a big part of what's happening in the future - and a lot of this stuff (like the scars we're about to see on his back) sets up what I've been planning for Rocket all along.`

A post shared by IGN (@igndotcom) on Apr 8, 2020 at 4:13pm PDT

Story details on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 are being kept under wraps, but the last we saw the Guardians was at the end of Avengers: Endgame where Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Drax (Dave Bautista), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), Rocket (Cooper), and Groot (Vin Diesel) were joined by Thor (Chris Hemsworth) as they search for Gamora (Zoe Saldana).

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 does not yet have a release date. Gunn is currently in post-production for The Suicide Squad, scheduled for an August 6, 2021 release, and is expected to immediately jump into Vol. 3 following The Suicide Squad.