Vin Diesel's MCU Recasting Breaks His Streak Months After Groot's Last Appearance

Vin Diesel's Long-Running Streak as Groot

Vin Diesel's portrayal of Groot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been a long-running streak, spanning over 15 years. He voiced Groot in each of James Gunn's three Guardians of the Galaxy movies, plus the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, despite the character's drastic age changes throughout. Diesel also reprized the role for Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Thor: Love and Thunder. Groot proved so popular that he even earned a solo Disney+ series of animated shorts, titled I Am Groot, in which Diesel also starred as Baby Groot. In all, Diesel has played the beloved character for 15 years. However, this streak was broken with the second season of What If...?

BIG Groot Standing Up In Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Post Credits Scene

What If...? is available to stream on Disney+

What If Season 2 Avengers at Christmas

Vin Diesel's Groot Streak Is Over Thanks To What If

The Disney+ series What If...? posed a hypothetical universe in which Groot appeared in season 2, episode 1 'What If... Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?' In this episode, Groot was recast and played by Fred Tatasciore instead of Vin Diesel. This was a surprising break in Diesel's streak, especially considering the character's popularity and the significant role Diesel played in bringing Groot to life. Interestingly, Tatasciore voiced Drax the Destroyer in What If...? season 1, after Dave Bautista did not return to voice his character in the series. The recasting of Groot and other MCU actors for What If...? season 2 raised questions about the reasons behind these decisions.

Groot dances at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3

This might explain why Diesel did not voice Groot - as Tatasciore was already employed by the series, he would have been substantially cheaper to retain than Diesel would have been. Diesel is one of the biggest names in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, and would have been an expensive acquisition - particularly considering he just repeats the same line of dialogue throughout, 'I am Groot.' Diesel famously had Gunn translate Groot's lines to lend them the appropriate inflection, which when combined with Diesel's trademark deep voice, helped create a surprisingly compelling performance. Nevertheless, Diesel and a slew of other MCU actors were recast for What If...? season 2.

Rocket stands on Groot's shoulder in Guardians of the Galaxy

Why So Many Marvel Actors Don’t Return For What If Season 2

What If...? retained many famed MCU actors, though some characters were recast for What If...? season 1. Executive producer Brad Winderbaum noted that these were primarily due to scheduling conflicts between the major stars. However, season 2 featured even fewer MCU actors. Several characters were recast for What If...? season 2, arguably with several contributing factors. Firstly, many of the original Avengers cast have completed their current contracts with Marvel Studios, and bringing them back in any fashion would mandate fresh contract negotiations - an unnecessarily complicated matter for a few lines of dialogue in an animated show. Secondly, many MCU stars boast impressive paychecks which would greatly strain a production's budget. Finally, with the upheaval in the entertainment industry following the SAG-AFTRA strikes, the actors' busy schedules may not have accommodated a What If...? performance. Considering the establishment of the Multiverse in the MCU and the prevalence of variants, the franchise has a handy way out of recasting characters, but replacing Groot was especially surprising.

Baby Groot frozen with Drax looking at him in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2