Baby Groot will be goofy, adorable and naive in Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2

Guardians of the Galaxy ended with Groot, the lovable tree-like creature, essentially sacrificing himself to protect his four comrades. Groot didn’t die, but he did revert to a miniature, infantile version of himself.

In a new interview with Collider, Vin Diesel said that Groot’s role in the sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2, would focus on the naivety of the character. Unlike the adult version of the character that audiences were introduced to back in 2014, Groot has essentially forgotten everything he’s learned over the course of his life.

“He couldn’t be more naive as Baby Groot,” Diesel said. “I always think of the Groot that we saw on the first Guardians as a college-level Groot, so he’s not fully grown yet, but he’s a man. And once he sacrifices himself at the end of the movie, now he has to start all over, so to speak.”

Diesel added that the new version of Groot would be adorable and goofy, learning everything again on the fly. The actor didn’t touch upon how this would affect Groot’s relationship with the rest of the cast, including his best friend and compadre, Rocket Raccoon.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 hits theaters May 5, 2017.