Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director James Gunn has offered an explanation of how people come to understand what Groot is saying in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Marvel movie is now available on home video and that comes along with a director’s commentary that is worth checking out if you’re a fan of the film.

One of the many cool little tidbits of information he shared involves the moment near the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 when Gamora can finally understand Groot. Then you’ve also got that beautiful moment where the audience watching the film can hear what Groot is saying for the first time in the franchise when he says, “ I love you guys.” That right there is movie magic.

For Gunn, it’s all about the emotional bond between the characters and he explains:

“So the way Groot’s voice works is that there is some sort of telepathic component to him, so that when he says ‘I am Groot,’ you need to bond with him, and at a certain point when you bond with him, start to understand what he’s saying. In the first movie, Rocket obviously understood. In these movies, now, the rest of the characters have started to understand it as time has gone on and they’ve gotten closer.”

I just love that, and that the fans and audiences were about to bond with him in the same way by the end of the movie. My question is… when we see Groot again and we hear him talk, will we continue to understand him since he bonded with the fans, or will we go back to only hearing “I am Groot”?