Most people spent this past weekend having cookouts, visiting with friends, or decorating the graves of loved ones. Drew McWeeny over at HitFix was dropping a lot of new information about Guardians of the Galaxy, including new members of the cast and more on what the film might offer.
The biggest scoop from the article is that John C. Reilly has been offered the part of Rhomann Dey in the film. HitFix describes the character as the S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison for the spacefaring team, much in the same role Agent Coulson served in the Phase I films.
However, those comic book fans who are well schooled in the most obscure corners of the Marvel Universe might recognize the character’s name as the true identity of Nova Prime, the leader of the Nova Corps–Marvel’s take on the intergalactic police force trope.
This is a case where the more outlandish sounding rumor might actually be more logical than the “official” version. Ships that appear to bear the insignia of the Nova Corps have been featured in promotional art. Reilly is an Oscar nominated-actor, so him playing the “Coulson” part seems a bit below his pay scale. Then there’s the whole problem of how a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent from Earth can actually be a liaison to a team that guards the whole galaxy. It seems like one of the big plot points of The Avengers was that opening a porthole to another part of the universe was really hard to do. And, really, who on Earth would name their kid “Rhomann?”
Perhaps there was a bit of a misunderstanding and the Nova Corps are the analog of S.H.I.E.L.D. for this film. That would make a bit more sense.
HitFix also says that Dey will have a partner in the film, and Marvel is looking at Hugh Laurie, Ken Watanabe or Alan Rickman to play him. I hope that if one of those men does get the part, Marvel signs one of the other two to play Dr. Strange, because they’d all be a great fit for that role.
If that bit of casting isn’t enough to knock your socks of, McWeeny gives us more. He states that Michael Rooker’s Yondu will not be a member of the Guardians, he’ll be fighting them. Yes, to the potential outrage of GotG fans everywhere, the character will be the villain of this film.
Lee Pace will also play a villain in the film, but according to McWeeny he won’t be staying one through to the final reel. His character, whoever it is, will have a change of heart and join the good guys. Pace’s character hasn’t yet been named, but the most intriguing possibility mentioned by McWeeny is Captain Marvel. Since the rumor states that this character is someone Marvel is hoping to spin off into their own franchise, Captain Marvel would fit the bill quite nicely.
McWeeny also says that the origins of the film’s GotG members will match up with the comic book origins, and that Rocket Raccoon will actually be partnered with Wal Russ (a anthropomorphic Walrus) when he first appears, which should delight Rocket Raccoon fans.
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