This just seems like it’s a big weekend for Vin Diesel-related announcements, doesn’t it? Before Vin dropped the Fast & Furious 7 news earlier today, he (and Marvel and director James Gunn) dropped another juicy bit of Guardians of the Galaxy news.
The video of Vin practicing on moonshoe-like stilts while on the set of Fast 7 was a giveaway, right?
Marvel and director James Gunn were quick to follow up with a press release and Instagram (respectively) confirming the news that Vin Diesel would be voicing Groot, the sentient talking alien tree of the comic (and soon to be film) franchise of the same name. It’s an easy bit of voice-over work, really; Groot only says “I am Groot!”
Guardians of the Galaxy is James Gunn’s directorial debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and serves as the first original film of Phase 2 and the last Phase 2 film before Avengers: Age of Ultron. Based on the comics (the 2008 and 2012 iterations, anyway) and a script from Nicole Perlman and James Gunn, the film follows the heroic mis-adventures of the ragtag misfit team known as the Guardians of the Galaxy, comprised of Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), and Groot (Vin Diesel), as they go up against Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace), Nebula (Karen Gillan), and Korath (Djimon Hounsou). Potential other allies and/or foes include Yondu (Michael Rooker), The Collector (Benicio del Toro; also glimpsed in the Thor: The Dark World mid-credit button), and Rhomann Dey (John C. Reilly), Nova Prime (Glenn Close), and other members of the Nova Corps (including Peter Serafinowicz), an intergalactic peace-keeping force. With an oddball cast and cast of characters, the film is bound to be a mighty big risk, but then again, wasn’t Iron Man a risk for Marvel back in 2008? Still, it’s one of my anticipated films of 2014, and keeping up with the comics just builds that anticipation. Well, that and the leaked Comic Con footage. Guardians of the Galaxy will hit screens on August 1, 2014, and Avengers: Age of Ultron hits screens on May 1, 2015.
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