How Old Is Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy 3?

Guardians of the Galaxy returned to action recently after their cameo appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder. The Holiday Special was great, as we learned a lot of new info about the group. We also learned that Groot has once again grown and grown fast. Seeing that his growing phases are a bit inconsistent, fans wonder, how old is Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy 3?

It’s unclear how old exactly Groot is in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, as we don’t know where the movie fits in the MCU timeline. Assuming that it happens not that late after the Holiday Special and that the Holiday special is happening around Christmas 2025, Groot is anywhere between 11-14 years old. If you, however, do not count the time he was snapped as lifespan, in that case, he is somewhere between 5 and 6 years old.

Due to the jumble that is MCU’s timeline, it’s hard to say exactly how old Groot is. He looks a lot bulkier in the Holiday Special and the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 trailer but is still described as ‘just a kid,’ and his face still looks very young. We also have some words from the director, James Gunn, from a while ago, so let’s dig in and determine Groot’s age in the threequel.

When was Groot born?

If we can establish when exactly was the little plant-bound Groot sprout born, it’ll be easier to determine how old the fan-favorite Guardian is in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. 

When Groot first appeared in Guardians of the Galaxy, he was a grown-up with a deep voice, bulky stature, and an adult face. His tragic passing with the phrase ‘We are Groot’ near the end of the film was not long-lasting, as we quickly learn in the credits scene that he was reborn as an insanely cute little dancing sprout, dubbed by James Gunn as Infant Groot.

That happened around 2014 in MCU’s timeline, give or take. Then, in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, we get Baby Groot. He’s grown out of his pot but is still quite tiny. It’s been only a couple of months since we’ve seen him as the cute little sprout. 

How fast does Groot grow up?

The post-credit scene where we get the first glimpse of Adolescent Groot (many dubbing this version the Teen Groot, but Gunn was adamant on Facebook that he’s an ‘adolescent,’ not a teen. He did state that it happens years after Baby Groot is last seen, but he wouldn’t disclose how many years exactly.

Groot was an adolescent – most likely a pre-teen or a ‘tween’ – for a while, all the way to Thor: Love and Thunder. It was only a cameo, and Groot may have looked only a bit bigger, but still about the same as we last saw him in Avengers: Endgame before that. 

Luckily for us, Thor dates his relationship with Jane Foster almost to a minute, so we know that Thor 4 happens around 2024 in the MCU.

That leads us to the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special – the first time we see the new Tenn/Young Adult Groot. He looks larger and bulkier but still has a child-looking face and is called ‘just a kid’ at one point in the Special.

Assuming that he couldn’t have grown all that bulk overnight, and knowing that the Holiday Special happens right at the end of Phase 4, it’s most likely happening on Christmas 2025 or maybe 2026.

If Groot sprouted in 2014, and we’re in 2025/2026 in the Holiday Special, it puts Groot at 11-12 years old. So now, naturally, we wonder, how can Groot be that young and look so much older?

Well, in the same Facebook post I mentioned earlier, Gunn explained:

“Like dogs, who grow at a different rate than humans, and spend a different percentage of their lives in adolescence than humans do, Groot and Humans do not grow at some exact exchange rate.  

So, although two months seems to be about two years (as Baby Groot seems to behave roughly like a two year old), it is not fair to assume that every month is a year to Groot. He has an alien biology and ages in a completely different way than a human being. Different aspects of his growth may take longer or shorter than a human’s.”

So, judging Groot’s age by his looks isn’t viable because he grows differently from a human. One could assume that he physically grows about twice as fast as humans on average but grows at a different pace during different stages of his life. He grows incredibly fast as a baby and then kind of slows down as he gets older.

How old is Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?

Finally, now that we know when Groot was born and where he’s at in the Holiday Special, it’s easier to get the ballpark of his age in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

In the trailer, you can see that Groot looks about the same as in the Holiday Special, meaning probably not a lot of time has passed since. However, due to his inconsistent growth over the years, and the fact that his growth seemed to slow down over the years, it might’ve been a couple of months or a couple of years between the two MCU installments.

So, if Groot is as young as 11 years old in the Special, that means he could be anywhere between 11-14 years in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, depending on when exactly the movie will take place within the MCU timeline.

That’s about all we can say in terms of his actual age. As for Groot’s physical age, it seems that he’s in that awkward teen-turning-to-young-adult phase, where his body’s growing and his voice is going deeper, but his demeanor and face are still closer to that of a kid.

We’ll know more on May 5, 2023, when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 officially hits theaters.

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