Rocket Watch Order: Every MCU Appearance
Start with Guardians of the Galaxy and work down the list. All 7 titles below are in story order, and for now the list ends with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Rocket Raccoon has the Guardians’ sharpest tongue and biggest heart.
Counting 6 films and 1 special or short, the whole list runs about 15 hours, with releases from 2014 to 2023.
Who is Rocket?
Bill Mantlo and Keith Giffen built Rocket Raccoon out of a Beatles song. "Rocky Raccoon" gave him his name, and he first appeared as Rocky in the back-up strip "Prince Wayfinder: The Sword in the Star" in Marvel Preview #7, July 1976. The comics version comes from Halfworld, an abandoned colony for the mentally ill where the animals were given human form to care for the patients, and Rocket served as the planet's chief law officer. He is written as a marksman, a tactician and an engineer, and his friendship with Groot has been the center of the character for decades.
Bradley Cooper voices him and Sean Gunn performs him on set, both since Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014. Halfworld is gone from this version entirely. Instead he is subject 89P13, made by the High Evolutionary out of a real raccoon and a great deal of cybernetic hardware, which explains both his temper and his refusal to discuss where he came from. He is also the Guardian who ends up working most directly with the Avengers.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in 2023 is effectively his film, and flashbacks finally lay out what the High Evolutionary did to him. Neither Bradley Cooper nor Sean Gunn is in the announced cast for Avengers: Doomsday, so there is nothing confirmed for him next.
Spoiler Spoilers for Rocket’s story: tap to reveal
- Rocket survives the Snap and spends five years on Earth helping build the machine that reverses it in Endgame.
- In Vol. 3 he spends much of the film badly injured while the team chases the override code that will keep him alive. By the end, Quill hands him the captain's chair and Rocket leads a new line-up of Guardians.
Rocket in story order
- 1
StreamDisney+
- 2
StreamDisney+
- 3
StreamDisney+
- 4
StreamDisney+
- 5
StreamDisney+
- 6
StreamDisney+
- 7
StreamDisney+
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Rocket FAQ
Is Rocket a real raccoon?
He is a genetically and cybernetically modified raccoon rather than an ordinary animal. In the MCU the High Evolutionary engineered him and designated him 89P13.
Who voices Rocket in the MCU?
Bradley Cooper provides the voice. Sean Gunn, who also plays Kraglin, performs the role on set as a reference for the animators.
Who leads the Guardians of the Galaxy now?
That changes at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, so the answer is in the spoiler box on this page.
What order should I watch Rocket in?
Go top to bottom. For Rocket, story order and release order are the same, so there’s nothing to rearrange. Start with Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and work forward.
How many titles feature Rocket?
7 so far (6 films and 1 special or short), released from 2014 to 2023, covering Phases 2 to 5 of the MCU. That’s about 15 hours of viewing.
How long does it take to watch every Rocket appearance?
About 15 hours for all 7 released titles. At two hours an evening, that’s roughly 8 sittings.
Do I need to watch the whole MCU to follow Rocket?
No. These 7 titles tell the character’s own story, and the 2 team-up films on the list cover where it meets the wider MCU. Of these, 3 are graded Essential, so start with those if you’re short on time.