So Guardians of the Galaxy seemed like it was going to be the misfit Marvel movie. Marvel’s own personal little movie that could (but shouldn’t). The uninitiated seemed really thrown by the idea of walking, talking, gun-slinging raccoon, and the casting rumors for that character didn’t make his badassdom any more clear (That character is seriously badass, trust me!). Now, we are getting some awesome casting bites. Chris Pratt was inspired. Dave Bautista sounded like a weak decision, but writer/director James Gunn sung this guy’s praises with enough passion to convince me to be open-minded. Zoe Saldana and Michael Rooker are fan favorites thanks to their own individual sci-fi projects, and everyone loves John C. Reilly. Than there are all these other actors: Academy Award nominated Glenn Close, Academy Award winner Benicio Del Toro, the underrated Lee Pace, and the former Whovian Karen Gillan. It’s just that they won’t tell us who they hell these people are playing, so I’m going to take a stab at it.
Lee Pace (left) could play Nova, Ronan, or the Collector (top to bottom)
Lee Pace as The Collector, Ronan the Accuser, or Rich Ryder
Lee Pace was actually auditioning for the lead role, Star-Lord. He ended up getting a villain role instead. The Collector seemed like the obvious choice since actress Ophelia Lovibond was supposedly cast as The Collector’s aide. The Collector was an anti-Thanos. He collected living beings and artifacts to save them from Thanos’ world domination. Ronan the Accuser also made himself into the rumormill. He is the judge, jury, and executioner of the Kree alien race. He is usually drawn much bulkier than Pace, but he was far from a grunt. The most interesting rumor I have read is Pace might actually be Nova Corpsman, Richard Ryder. Nova is technically a hero, but the Guardians of the Galaxy have been described as fugitives (a la Firefly), so the idea that an intergalactic space cop is the antagonist might make sense.
Benicio del Toro (left) could play Thanos or Korvac (top to bottom)
Benicio Del Toro as Thanos or Korvac
Benicio Del Toro is definitely one of the more inherently talented actors that Marvel has brought into their cinematic universe. He has been nominated twice for an Academy award (one of which was a win). He has a quiet intensity, but he can pull off theatrical craziness. He is playing a villainous role that requires him to be in more than one Marvel movie. My gut reaction is he is playing Thanos, the mysterious purple guy in the post-credits scene of Avengers. So far Guardians… is the only other movie that has made reference to Thanos in pre-production. But as I thought about it, the Avengers share another fairly high profile villain with the Guardians, Michael Korvac. Korvac was a human abducted by an alien race and turned into a cyborg. While trying to get revenge on the aliens that abducted him, he downloaded information from Galactus’ ship (obviously that would help) so cosmically advanced, it gave him god-like powers. Besides fighting both of Marvel’s cinematic teams, Korvac was also married to Carina, the role that Ophelia Lovibond is most likely playing.
Glenn Close (left) could be the Worldmind (right)
Glenn Close as Worldmind
Glenn Close is also one of the more impressive hires Marvel has clinched. She has been nominated for an Academy Award 6 times. She has been hired to play the Head Cop of the Nova Corps. Of these four actors, we know the most about her. She could just be a humanoid police chief to the Nova Corps, but I think there might need to be more emphasis on the “Head” part of “Head Cop.” All the Nova Corpsman are connected by the Worldmind, a spiritual adviser to the Nova corps. The last time I saw the Worldmind, it had taken the appearance (at least the floating head) and identity of former Nova Corpsman, Ko-Rel.
Karen Gillan may play Death
Karen Gillan as Death
If Thanos is involved in any capacity at all, Death is not too far behind him. Death is exactly what it sounds like, the avatar of Death, the Grim Reaper. Thanos, seemingly immortal and invincible, is in love what he can’t have. His sense of destruction and conquest is motivated by his love of Death, granting her so many souls to bring to the other end and maybe, one day, find the being who could put him down for good. Gillan is supposedly playing a villain, but she is so overwhelmingly cute. She might just be the most infamous femme fatale of all time.
Of course, none of this is official. I’m just screwing around.