Deadline is reporting that actor Benicio del Toro has been cast in a lead role in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, directed by James Gunn. Details of the role are slim, but according to the source “he’s playing a character that is built to be part of future Marvel films”.
Given that this is a lead role, and not a lead villain role, our initial assumption of Thanos might not hold. With most of the leads cast, this potentially leaves Rocket Raccoon and Groot, although the latter only has one line (“I am Groot!”) in the comics continuity. Other guesses might include Adam Warlock, or…well, just about any character in the Marvel cosmic universe.
It’s been a massive week or so for casting of this film, with Glenn Close and Doctor Who’s Karen Gillan recently announced for the overflowing film. Other cast so far include Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer and Zoe Saldana has been offered Gamora. Ophelia Lovibond, Lee Pace and Michael Rooker are all said to have roles in the space epic. Glenn Close is playing a leadership role in the Nova Corps. It seems that Disney reallydoesn’t want this space epic to fail.
Guardians of the Galaxy is released on 1 August 2014 from Marvel Studios via Disney.
