After countless shortlist stories and rumors concerning who would play Star-Lord in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, the search for the lead role is finally over, and fittingly the actor is someone who never appeared on any of the aforementioned lists. Deadline reports that Chris Pratt has been tapped to play Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, a character who was born of a human mother and alien father, and is a master strategist and combat expert who wears an ability-enhancing suit and pilots a psychically-linked ship. As Guardians features a cast of strange and cosmic characters, Quill was an important role to fill because he will likely act as the audience’s introduction to the vast, unfamiliar Guardians world. Hit the jump for more.
There were plenty of actors rumored for the role that made a lot of sense (John Krasinski, Zachary Levi, etc.), and Deadline notes that Marvel made test deals with Joel Edgerton, Jack Huston, Lee Pace, and Eddie Redmayne, but Chris Pratt actually seems like a perfect fit. His comic timing is excellent as evidenced by his work on NBC’s Parks and Recreation, and he’s shown his talent on the dramatic side with Moneyball and 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty, for which he also proved that he can beef up for a role if need-be.
Looking back on the previous shortlists and taking Pratt into consideration, it’s clear that writer/director James Gunn is planning on injecting a good amount of humor into Guardians of the Galaxy. A rumor surfaced recently that Marvel was looking at possibly tapping Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler to do voice work in the film (one of the guardians is a talking raccoon), so I’m interested to see the tone that Gunn settles on for the finished film.
With the role of Star-Lord secure, Gunn and Marvel now look to filling out the rest of the cast, which includes the powerful Drax the Destroyer, a giant tree named Groot, the aforementioned Rocket Raccoon, and the female lead Gamora. The story is also rumored to involve the villain Thanos. Expect to hear more soon as production gears up to begin later this year. Guardians of the Galaxy will be released in 3D on August 1, 2014. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRichard:
Concerning the ending credits
Spoiler!
Has there been talk of them making a Howard the Duck movie?
The director, Gunn, is a bigtime fan of the character. No idea why?
Simply, a geek move to put it in on his part, and in fact they didn't shoot or add this in until just before release this week. None of the sneak peeks included the scene. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigBeauford:
Wonderful movie, but this James Gunn has been involved with shit film-making for what seems his entire career, then he just does this!?
He's been on the fringe of busting out over the past 10 years or so.
Each of the characters was well formed with their personality and humor. The scene where Quill is putting together a plan and everybody is bouncing off each other -- perfect example of how this film works.
Rocket's drunken scene was surprising in its poignancy.
The usage of music in this film was unbelievable and inspired. Using 70s pop music was fantastic -- the music was a character.
I thought the usage and intro of Thanos was very well handled. He already seems like the most interesting foe we've had since Loki.
Many, many great things in the film.
Quibbles I had with the film:
There was a surprising amount of exposition where the characters are telling each other how much they like each other. The whole appeal of this group is that they are a reluctant team that eventually come to like each other. This part was rushed and really happened too soon.
John C. Reilly didn't fit. Stunt casting.
The pacing is probably my biggest complaint. The film had a lot going on but the pacing was really off. It skipped some parts of the plot -- like better establishing who these characters are -- and slowed down to a crawl in other parts -- the scene where Groot covers up everybody takes eons.
The bad guy was a waste of Ronin, a more complex character than this film offered. Ronin in the comics is not malevolent, just unbendingly ideological -- he's teamed up with heroes many times and could have been a valuable warrior against Thanos. Instead, he's a one-dimensional baddie just like the dark elf in Thor 2 in every significant way.
Film was a blast.
I'd still put Iron Man, Iron Man 3, Thor, and the Avengers are the tier A Marvel pictures. (I haven't seen Cap 2, yet).
This film belongs in the 2nd tier with Thor 2 and the Incredible Hulk.
Then you have shit films like Captain America and Iron Man 2. [Reply]
Looks like it's still on target for a $95 million opening weekend. Pretty great for a comic property that 90% of the moviegoing audience knew nothing about a year ago (or, hell, a few days ago). Equivalent to Captain America 2's opening weekend in April. [Reply]
They did a great job of spoofing the genre in one scene, and then a few seconds later returning to the serious/tension scenes.
I'm sure the infinity gauntlet storyline will be very interesting, and I enjoyed seeing the short treatment of Thanos in this film. One of the greatest villains in any kind of pop culture ever, hopefully the coming films (whatever franchise they are) do him justice. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaveNull:
I'm experiencing a nerd boner that has lasted more than four hours and may have to consult my local comic book provider.
Lube up or you're looking at a nasty bout with numerous papercuts in rather tender regions. [Reply]
