The very reliable
LatinoReview is reporting that Marvel Studios is looking into getting both Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler for the upcoming production of James Gunn's Guardians of The Galaxy. While the roles aren't named they speculate it could be for Rocket Raccoon and Groot. Those roles would likely involve motion capture and voice acting similar to Mark Ruffalo's work as the Hulk.
Jim Carrey has had experience with motion capture when he made A Christmas Carol. Carrey recently filmed a supporting role in Kick-Ass 2 which could help his credibility with comic book fans. Also, opening doors for him to tackle action roles in the future. He's tackled dramatic roles in Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind and Man On The Moon. I feel like if Marvel/Gunn has re-imagined Groot like they with Drax and Gamora, Carrey could make a great Groot.
Adam Sandler on the on the other hand has been loosing a lot of respect with a wheel-house of terrible low-quality comedies recently. It's possible taking on a lovable role like Rocket Raccoon would help his image with audiences. Sandler took on a lead voice role in Hotel Transylvania and has decent roles in the past with Punch-Drunk Love, Airheads and The Wedding Singer. So it's possible he could knock it out of the park if he actually put some effort into this project. Quentin Tarantino originally wanted Sandler for the role of Sgt. Donny Donowitz (Eli Roth) in Inglorious Basterds but he had to turn it down because it conflicted with the shooting of Funny People.
The site also mentions new names to the candidates running for the lead role of Peter Quill. They include Wes Bentley (Hunger Games, American Beauty), Chris Lowell (Up In The Air, The Help), and Cam Gigandet (Easy A, Pandorum, Twilight, Never Back Down). These names don't exactly inspire me to get excited but none-the-less they could end up with supporting roles instead of Star-Lord. Marvel is known to test everyone in Hollywood for leads to make sure they get the right actor in the role.
The list of actors linked to the role is starting to move into Captain America territory. They include Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception, Looper, Dark Knight Rises, Sin City 2), Zachary Levi (Chuck, Thor The Dark World), Jim Strugess (Cloud Atlas), Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire), Joel Edgerton (Animal Kingdom, Zero Dark Thirty), Lee Pace (Hobbit, The Fall), Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables, Jupiter Ascending), John Krasinski (The Office, Promised Land), Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville), Sullivan Stapleton (Strike Back, Animal Kingdom, 300: Rise of An Empire), James Marsden (Superman Returns, X-Men Trilogy) and Garrett Hedlund (Tron Legacy, Troy).
However, out of the new names I think Chris Lowell has a decent shot. Lowell has history on television with supporting roles on Veronica Mars and Private Practice. While also landing roles in films such as The Help alongside Emma Stone (Gwen in Amazing Spider-Man) and Jessica Chastain (who was looked at for Iron Man 3). He also had a small part in Jason Reitman's Up In The Air.
