James Gunn addresses rumor Vin Diesel was paid $54 million to say ‘I am Groot’ for Guardians of the Galaxy

James Gunn has addressed the rumors that Vin Diesel was paid an astonishing amount to play everybody’s favorite tree, Groot.

For those rare few people who haven’t seen a MCU film, Groot is the sentient alien-like tree voiced by the one and only, Vin Diesel.

Even though Diesel voiced the character, it’s worth noting that Groot only speaks in three words: “I am Groot”.

A recent rumor on the internet suggested Diesel was paid around $13 million for each film.

Considering Diesel has voiced Groot in the three Guardians of the Galaxy films and the Christmas Special, it was estimated that he received around $54 million for his work.

Although, this would not include his performances in either Infinity War or Endgame, or Thor: Love and Thunder and the first season of Disney’s new show I am Groot.

However, Gunn took to Twitter to bust this rumor, posting 'not true', alongside the laughing emoji.

I mean, $54 million to say three words with different inflections does seem pretty unreasonable when you consider Chris Pratt, who plays the leader of the Guardian’s Peter Quill, made around $20 -25 million for all six MCU movies he starred in.

😂 not true

— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 23, 2023

However, neither Diesel or Gunn have confirmed the actual figure.

Some sources have suggested he was paid anywhere from $10 - 15 million for all his appearances as Groot.

Needless to say, even without the $54 million for Groot, Diesel is in no way short for cash, given the success of his other franchise, Fast & Furious.

While Diesel received around $2 million for the first Fast & Furious film, it’s estimated that Diesel received $20 million for his recent performance in Fast X.

On top of that, Celebrity Net Worth has the actor’s entire net worth sitting at around $225 million, which is probably enough to launch a rocket into space in search of any real Guardians of the Galaxy.