Vin Diesel often overhypes his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (remember when he promised "King Groot" for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?), but has arguably the easiest job of any actor in the franchise.
As everyone's favourite sentient tree, all he has to do is step into the recording booth and say "I am Groot." While we're by no means diminishing what he brings to the table as this character, some recent reports raised eyebrows when it was suggested Diesel has racked up a whopping $54 million haul for his various appearances as Groot in the MCU.
The Fast & Furious star has been a big part of this shared world, of course, starring in Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Love and Thunder, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, and I Am Groot.
However, as you can see below, filmmaker James Gunn recently confirmed that claims about Diesel earning such a huge amount of money are, in fact, incorrect.
We're sure he's done well, but for a role like this, the actor has probably made hundreds of thousands of dollars (if not less) per project rather than millions! Perhaps he gets a bonus for saying "We are Groot," though.
In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, our beloved band of misfits are looking a bit different these days. Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him to defend the universe along with protecting one of their own. A mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.
Gunn writes and directs Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, and Maria Bakalova.
Kevin Feige is the producer and Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Nikolas Korda, Simon Hatt, and Sara Smith serve as executive producers.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 arrives in theaters on May 5, 2023.