When Groot first made his appearance to the world in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, his goofy antics and willingness to sacrifice everything for his friends made fans fall in love all around the world. After watching him grow from a tiny seedling into a moody teenager during Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2, Groot became the unofficial mascot for the space-bound heroes and has remained one of the most popular Guardians ever since. Now that James Gunn is working to create the next Suicide Squad installment, he's preparing King Shark for the role of everybody's favorite inhuman hero. Here's what Groot and King Shark have in common.
For starters, both King Shark and Groot are voiced by well-known actors. Since the release of Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot has been voiced by famous actor Vin Diesel, who is best known for his action-packed role in the Fast & Furious franchise. King Shark is voiced by another famous action star, Sylvester Stallone, who is taking on the challenge of bringing a mutant character to life on the big screen, just like Vin Diesel did with Groot.
Groot's most popular trait is the fact that he doesn't know a lot of words, only repeating the phrase "I am Groot" to communicate with the rest of his team. In the trailer for The Suicide Squad, King Shark is sitting in a room with the rest of his crew, getting the details about his latest mission. Amusingly, King Shark doesn't seem to have much interest in what's going on around him, because he's far more interested in his own body. King Shark points to his hand and proudly announces "hand," to which Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) responds by praising him for his ability to name his own body parts. The only other words King Shark speaks are "nom nom" before taking a bite out of someone's head. Needless to say, King Shark isn't a man of words, just like Groot.
Not only are King Shark and Groot meant to serve as comedic relief, but they're also both ridiculously strong with a talent for taking down their enemies and making it look easy. In the prison-break scene during the first Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot took on numerous flying drones all by himself, making quick work of destroying the enemy's technology.
Despite being funny and totally cute, Groot is more than capable of kicking butt when it comes to saving the world. In The Suicide Squad trailer, King Shark is undoubtedly funny, showing fans a brief glimpse of his comedic charm, but he's more than capable of packing a painful punch. Not only did he lift a fully-grown man as if he weighed less than a feather, the trailer shows King Shark standing in the middle of numerous explosions, bearing the weight of falling concrete like it was a simple spring rain. Even though he's got a good sense of humor, King Shark isn't a creature his enemies should take lightly.
Given the fact that Groot is such a kind-hearted and lovable character, it's easy to forget that he lived a life of crime before joining the Guardians on their mission to save the world. Before becoming a superhero, Groot traveled the galaxy with his best friend, Rocket Raccoon, and committed a series of crimes in order to get by every day. Despite being cute and funny, Groot has a dark side that makes his character all the more interesting.
King Shark is obviously joining up with the rest of the Suicide Squad to save the world, but is doing so out of necessity, rather than out of the goodness of his own heart. Members of the Suicide Squad are hand-selected from a prison meant for super-villains and dangerous enhanced individuals, meaning King Shark has done some bad in his life to end up in the presence of Harley Quinn and other notorious baddies. Even though King Shark is taking a page out of the superhero handbook, his true motives for saving the world are based on the fact that Amanda Waller plants explosives into the brains of every criminal she lets out of her prison gates.
James Gunn has worked on the Guardians of the Galaxy series, as well as MCU blockbusters Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, meaning he's got the recipe for success in his back pocket. It's no secret that DCEU films haven't performed as well as their competitors in the past, but James Gunn's expertise gives The Suicide Squad a better chance of holding its own against other popular superhero films. Although the DCEU is great in conceptualizing ideas for their films, the execution has proved to be a bit lackluster in the past, so fans are hopeful that Gunn's previous accomplishments will shine through when The Suicide Squad finally hits the big screen.
The Suicide Squad premieres August 6, 2021.