Guardians of the Galaxy almost had a segment that took place on Halfworld and revealed more about Rocket Raccoon's origins.
Those familiar with Guardians of the Galaxy lore will remember Halfworld as the planet where Rocket Raccoon was imprisoned and genetically modified, as well as where he met and lost his love interest Lylla. It's an important part of Rocket's background that is mentioned throughout Guardians of the Galaxy, but never shown. That wasn't always the case, however.
Mary DeMarle, senior narrative director on Guardians of the Galaxy, revealed that Halfworld was once planned for the game when asked if there was any significant content or plotlines left on the cutting room floor. DeMarle said, "When we were originally conceiving of the game and the story, we had great ambitions. Sometimes we think we're being tight and concise and later on as we get into production, we'd realise that we can't do that. So one of the things was that you were going to go to Halfworld and you were going to explore Rocket's background."
DeMarle continued, "We had an interesting concept for what Halfworld would be and what we were going to do, but then ultimately as we got into production, we realised that including Halfworld was making the story go in a different direction and making it bloated. It was pushing things and it wasn't enabling us to focus on the heart of what we needed, so Halfworld ended up being cut relatively early in production."
Considering Guardians of the Galaxy is already close to 20 hours long, it's not too surprising that a whole planet was cut out of the game to keep things focused. Although Halfworld doesn't appear in the final game, there are several references and allusions to it through in-game dialogue and outfits. Rocket has an unlockable "Hero of Halfworld" outfit that he can wear, and collectibles found within the game will let you talk to Rocket about his romantic relationship with Lylla.