Warning: Spoilers for "Avengers: Infinity War" below!

As "Avengers: Infinity War" continues to dominate the box office worldwide, Marvel fans are still trying to make sense of the movie's heartwrenching ending. Shocked moviegoers are also seeking some answers, mainly about whether the superheroes' fates were infinitely set in stone, pun intended.

But one of the more curious points to talk about is what the teenage Groot said towards the end of the movie. As MCU fans know, the talking tree--voiced by actor Vin Diesel--only speaks three words: "I am Groot." Only a handful of characters can understand Groot's language--Rocket Raccoon, Thor (as we learned in the movie), and the Marvel writers, of course.

'Guardians of the Galaxy' director reveals what Groot said

Thanos' genocidal plan to destroy half of the population in the universe succeeded, as the powerful villain was able to get his hands on all six infinity stones. After he did the infamous "infinity snap," literally half of the world's population turned to ash--including some of our favorite superheroes. Groot was among these unlucky ones.

Before he disintegrated, Groot turned to his old friend Rocket and uttered, "I am Groot." The talking Raccoon was visibly devastated by the loss of his "Guardians of the Galaxy" companion, but the meaning of Groot's line was kept from the viewers.

Over the weekend, a fan took to Twitter to ask "Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn what Groot's final words meant.

Surprisingly, the Marvel director answered and spilled the secret: "Dad."

James Gunn's answer leaves fans in more tears

As Polygon reported, Rocket is not Groot's real father. Baby Groot, from "Guardians Vol. 2," is actually the genetic seedling of the adult Groot--Rocket's close friend.

Rocket raised the baby tree until he became the Teen Groot. The two were so close that Rocket even took Groot with him when he decided to go with Thor to Nidavellir in search of a better hammer. The fact that the teen Groot thought of Rocket Raccoon as his "dad" before dying is enough to make "Avengers" fans more heartbroken than ever.

Fans flooded James Gunn's reply with comments, expressing how they are gutted with this new knowledge. Gunn assured fans that he wasn't making this up and the meaning of Groot's last words was, in fact, in the scripts.

Interestingly, Rocket also muttered a touching line when he was talking to Thor: "Me personally, I could lose a lot." Knowing the context of his relationship with Groot, fans can put a whole new depth to the smart raccoon's words now. Crossing our gauntlet-less fingers that Groot and Rocket will have a father-and-son reunion in "Avengers 4" next year.
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