There have been many rumors and stories doing the rounds on the interweb about who is playing who in Marvel’s big space gamble that is Guardians of the Galaxy. But now it seems that some light has been shed on a few key villainous roles in the movie.
We’ve known for some time that Benicio Del Toro, Lee Pace and Doctor Who alum Karen Gillan had all been cast as villains in the film, but nobody knew exactly who they might be playing. But, according to Den of Geek, we may now have some answers.
Initial rumors were that Benicio Del Toro would be playing Thanos, (the big dude who made a cheeky appearance at the end of The Avengers), but now it appears that he will be playing The Collector. Lee Pace is apparently set to play Ronan The Accuser, a role that was originally thought to be linked to John C. Reilly, while Karen Gillan looks set to fill the role of Nebula.
For those of you unaware, The Collector is one of the oldest characters in the Marvel universe. A being who protects the universe in his own special way. The last of his species, he travels around collecting artifacts and beings (hence his name), housing them in specially designed museums, with the intent of re-seeding the universe should any catastrophe befall it. He has a limited ability to see into the future, and it was he who initially foresaw the coming of Thanos.
Ronan The Accuser is a member of the Kree, an alien race, and has been known to have shown a dash of heroics on occasion to go along with his villainous ways. Nebula, meanwhile, is a villain and space pirate who has claimed to be the granddaughter of Thanos.
As you can no doubt tell, it seems that Marvel are going to be heavily expanding upon Thanos’ role in Phase 2 of their cinematic universe. Although, we’re not even sure that he will make an appearance in the movie. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Expect a full casting announcement at Comic-Con at the end of the month.
Guardians of the Galaxy is directed by James Gunn and also stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Glenn Close, Dave Bautista and John C. Reilly. The film is set for release on August 1st 2014.