The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 trailers have done a fine job of showing all the film's major characters, including one who is showing a pretty different personality than he previously had. Yes, we are talking about Baby Groot.
In the first Guardians of the Galaxy, Groot was a caring tree thing and now, Baby Groot is a bit more tenacious. With the death of Groot in the first film and his re-emergence at the end as a baby, it was safe to think that Baby Groot was big Groot, just growing up again. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
Groot died, like he wasn't mostly dead… He was all dead. Baby Groot is a brand new Groot. Director James Gunn confirmed this in an interview with SFX Magazine (via GamesRadar).
“Groot’s sacrifice at the end of the movie means something. It’s not a meaningless sacrifice. He sacrificed himself for these people he loves.”
“And Baby Groot is not Groot,” Gunn continued, “He’s a different character and he does not have that character’s memories. He’s stupid – he’s a baby, he’s an idiot! So changing that character to Baby Groot was a hugely important element in crafting this story."
