Brad Winderbaum & Kirsten Lepore Interview: I Am Groot

After Groot sacrificed himself at the end of the original Guardians of the Galaxy movie, the character was reborn as the adorable Baby Groot. A scene-stealer in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Baby Groot delighted audiences with his toddler-like appearance and antics. Though the character grew up for his subsequent MCU roles in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Baby Groot is coming back to screens as the focus of Marvel's new animated series, I Am Groot. The show consists of five shorts starring the character.

Screen Rant had an opportunity to speak with producer Brad Winderbaum and lead writer Kirsten Lepore about the genesis of I Am Groot, their favorite shorts in the series, Ironheart's upcoming MCU debut, and much more.

Congrats on this series. It is so adorable, so fun. Where did this idea come from to do a short series surrounding Baby Groot?

Brad Winderbaum: We obviously knew we wanted to bring Baby Groot back to the screen, in some way, shape or form. You fall in love with him in Guardians 2, and then by the mid-credits, he's already a teenager. So we knew that there was a pocket of time that we could explore. And the question was how and why. And as Kevin and I kicked around ideas, we started thinking about the earliest animated films at Walt Disney Studios, which were the Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck shorts of the '20s, '30s, and '40s. And then started digging into what filmmakers could bring such a thing to life. And Kirsten very quickly became the only choice, based on her incredible shorts that we found online. There's a situational storytelling that she brings and a real director's eye that we knew would be the perfect fit for I Am Groot.

Kirsten, what was your favorite thing to expand on with Groot?

Kirsten Lepore: It's just so much fun writing for him and just getting to know him through these five shorts, where we just get dropped in at different points in his childhood. I mean, what better way to get to know a character than just dropping him into all these situations and seeing how he works his way out. And sometimes he's sweet and makes the right decision. And sometimes he's a bad baby and he maybe made a questionable choice. But that's all part of his character and who he is, which was... Yeah, it's an honor to be able to flesh this whole character out.

Because Groot obviously says "I am Groot," and not much else. Are you writing what is real, what he's really thinking or saying in your scripts?

Kirsten Lepore: We do have translations in the scripts for what he's actually saying, in keeping with what James Gunn started. I think he does that as well. I think that comes through regardless, just through the performance, Vin did a really, really incredible job in his vocal performance for Groot. You know, every "I am Groot" that's in there is a unique "I am Groot" that he recorded specifically for that moment. So there really is some nuance there.

Do you have a favorite short that's in the series that you're excited for fans to see?

Kirsten Lepore: I'm going to be political. I love them all equally. I definitely have my favorite moments from each one. I'll say that.

Brad Winderbaum: I mean, same. As soon as I think about one that I like more than the other, I start realizing like, "Oh wait, but what about that other one, that's so incredible too." And really it's like, they're all so different. And they play in different genres that makes it even harder to choose.

I know Groot is James Gunn's baby. He loves this character. How involved was he in the series? And what was the collaboration like with him working on this?

Kirsten Lepore: It was great to have him involved. You know, we had several meetings with him throughout the process. He gave us really fantastic notes once our stories were sort of fully fleshed out. And then even back to the beginning, we had a kickoff meeting with him where he and I just sort of talked out like who this character is. And he gave me some really crucial kind of tidbits to how he would define Baby Groot. And I always kept those things in the back of my head as we were writing and throughout the end of the process, just to make sure we were really staying true to this character.

Is there any other character you would love, as a result of working on this, that you're like, "Oh, it'd be cool to do if we did shorts about this character." Brad, you're shaking your head. I feel like something's in your mind.

Brad Winderbaum: I just can't wait to hear what Kirsten's answer is going to be.

Kirsten Lepore: Oh, I mean, I'm also going to give a... I'm going to give a political answer. I'm going to say Baby Groot was always my favorite. So that's why when you came to me like, "We're making Groot shorts," I was like, "Well, that's perfect because he's the absolute best character for me to be working with." I love him so much. So I don't know, he's already my favorite. It would be hard to pick another one.

Well, let's go off that then, because there are other iterations of Groot we've seen, like the teen, angsty Groot that we met for a minute. And then even in the new Guardians footage that we saw on Hall H, he's like, I think maybe early twenties or something. I don't know what that age is, but I feel like there's all of these places you could go with Groot.

Kirsten Lepore: I will say I enjoy the Baby Groot character. I think he really speaks to me. It's like a... It's an age I can really relate to. I have a three-year-old. So I'm constantly, every day, taking inspiration from my daily life and my child. And I'm like, "Yes,I see a lot of him in Groot." So at this moment I'm going to say Baby Groot, as he is now, is my favorite.

Are there any cameos we can expect in the show?

Kirsten Lepore: Yeah. Yeah. We recorded Bradley Cooper for this. So Rocket will be making an appearance. There's also a little, there's a little Drax Easter egg in there.

Brad Winderbaum: There's a special voice that makes an appearance.

Kirsten Lepore: Yeah. Yeah. And James Gunn actually did a little cameo voice for us. He plays this little kind of computer watch, like a Siri-type voice.

Oh my God.

Kirsten Lepore: Yeah, he did. He did a fantastic job. Yeah. He literally was just coming in. I think he was shooting, I don't even know at the time what he was shooting, he was shooting something and then just came in for five minutes. They ushered him away from set to come into a trailer and record with us for five minutes, which was incredibly gracious of him. And of course, he just nailed it the first time, done, fantastic, and then went back to work. He's a busy guy, but I'm glad he made time for our little Siri cameo.

Brad, I want to ask you, going off Hall H, I think one I'm really excited for, Miss Riri Williams. She's making her debut in Wakanda Forever, but you're also working on the Ironheart series, correct?

Brad Winderbaum: Yeah. Yeah.

Riri Williams aka Ironheart from Marvel Comics

How excited are you for fans to finally meet her?

Brad Winderbaum: It's amazing. She's incredible in Wakanda Forever. And she's a character that has a lot of depth and a really amazing backstory. And what she's capable of as an individual is really exciting. So there's a lot of adventures to explore with her that I'm excited for the audience to see.

Very exciting. And Kirsten, what's next for you?

Kirsten Lepore: Well, we're working on five more Groot shorts, so-

Oh, I didn't know this!

Kirsten Lepore: Yeah, yeah, yeah. We just announced the second batch at Comic-Con a couple of days ago. But yeah, stories are already written. We're actually in animation on the second batch.

That's exciting. Any hints you can give us about what that next batch will be?

Kirsten Lepore: I'd say if you enjoy the first five, you're definitely going to enjoy the second.

I Am Groot Synopsis

Baby Groot with confused expression in I Am Groot

There’s no guarding the galaxy from this mischievous toddler! So get ready as Baby Groot takes center stage in his very own collection of shorts, exploring his glory days growing up—and getting into trouble—among the stars. I Am Groot, five original shorts featuring several new and unusual characters, stars everyone’s favorite little tree, Baby Groot, voiced by Vin Diesel who voices Groot in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.

I Am Groot is now streaming on Disney+