James Gunn Reveals Brother Sean Gunn's Roles in Guardians of the Galaxy Movie

A recent scan from Empire Magazine showed director James Gunn and his brother Sean Gunn as part of the production for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Sean was the on-set stand-in for Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), who is likely to become the breakout star of the film.

James went on Facebook yesterday to officially reveal the image, but he also explained a great deal about his brother's importance to the movie and revealed the other characters he helped bring to life:

"This photo is from [Empire] magazine which features a great article on how we work together and what Sean contributed to the character of Rocket and to the movie as a whole," he wrote. "It also reveals that, in addition to being the onset Rocket, and using a lot of his body and facial work in the character, he was also the onset Thanos, as well as playing the role of Kraglin, Yondu Udonta's First Mate in the Ravagers, and Quill's lifelong frenemy. Few things in my career give me more creative pleasure than working with my brother."

The director expanded on this in a later response to a comment on Facebook:

"We also had a little person, who we used for reference and lighting in scenes - the very very awesome Arti Shah. But Sean is VERY limber and able to crawl around on all fours at the proper height (Rocket is actually smaller than almost all little people). But what was really important was Sean's acting. He essentially co-created the character of Rocket, and his acting is used throughout the film. It was also of great benefit to the other actors, who had a full scene partner who was as an accomplished actor as all of them. If you read the Sci-Fi article you'll find out from Zoe Saldana how important Sean was to the whole process and her personally. And I know Chris Pratt and Dave Bautista also agree. Bautista and Sean had - and continue to have - a special bond that I think is very reflective of the onscreen bond between Rocket and Drax."

If Guardians of the Galaxy succeeds, then Sean Gunn clearly deserves a good portion of the credit.

Are you surprised to hear the director's brother was so involved in the creation of the movie? Let us know in the comments below.