"Parks and Rec" funnyman Chris Pratt made jaws drop when he tweeted a picture of himself after six solid months of training to get his body in shape to fit in with the Marvel Universe, as he gets ready to begin filming the lead role in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movie. Although he's been cast for a while, something about his new look seems to make the "Guardians" movie a sudden reality. However, little else is known about the casting.
Pratt will be playing the role of Star-Lord, also known as Peter Quill, a NASA astronaut who's the offspring of a human mother and an alien father. He becomes the leader of the central team of superheroes. According to IMDB's cast list, as well as various rumors from around the web, joining Pratt in the film will be Zoe Saldana has been locked down for the role of Gamora who, in the comic books is the adopted daughter of "Avengers" end credits teaser villain Thanos. Playing the role of Yondu is "The Walking Dead's" Merle Dixon, Michael Rooker.
Taking up the role of Drax the Destroyer is former pro-wrestler Dave Bautista. Drax's character also has ties to the "Avengers" universe as his back story involves losing his family at the hand of Thanos.
Many big name actors have signed onto the film but their roles have yet to be announced. For example, John C. Riley and Glenn Close are confirmed for the cast and are rumored to play members of Nova Corps. from the comics but no other information is confirmed at the moment.
Benicio del Toro from "Savages," "Wolfman" and "Sin City" has signed on to join the cast but his role goes unrevealed as well. Joining him in the "exciting names but no characters" category is former companion to the Doctor in the BBC science fiction series "Doctor Who," Karen Gillan. The actress recently left the show at the height of her popularity and joining another science fiction series as big as Marvel is a great step in the right direction for both her career and her persona.
Despite the casting being kept very under wraps, director James Gunn has said the movie is set for a release date of August 2014.
