Michael Rooker Will Play Original Guardian Yondu In GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Deadline reports that Walking Dead's Michael Rooker (Days of Thunder, Tombstone) has signed on for a role in Guardians of The Galaxy. Rooker will play Yondu an alien big game hunter who becomes one of the original founding members of Guardians of The Galaxy. Yondu will likely be the only character from the original team to be among the lineup. It's the first time we've had confirmation of a new addition to the lineup of Starlord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket Raccoon and Groot. Michael has also had roles in both James Gunn's previous films Slither and Super.

Michael Rooker Wants To Be Rocket Raccoon In GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

While there has been lots of speculation that Nathan Fillion is a lock for the role of Star-Lord in Guardians of The Galaxy there hasn't been much of the way for the other team members. There had been rumblings of Bob Hoskins' gravely cockney voice for Rocket . However, character actor Michael Rooker (Super, Slither, Mallrats, Henry, Walking Dead) has come out in support for James Gunn landing the directing gig via MovieWeb. Rooker has a solid supporting role in both Gunn's Slither and Super having a close working relationship. He hopes that he'll be asked to take on the role of Rocket Raccoon which seems like a perfect fit. Michael is known for badass roles, so to see him take on Rocket could make him yet another breakout star from the Marvel franchises.

"Oh, yeah. Most certainly. I know that James Gunn is doing it. He is directing it, and he is re-writing it. He is a very loyal director. He is a very loyal writer, when it comes to working with people that he knows and loves. He really appreciates the efforts that each actor puts into these roles. And I would be very honored and pleased to work with James Gunn again...Whether it will happen or not, I don't know. But he is a dynamite guy, and we have remained friends ever since we worked together on Slither.

I haven't done much research on it at all yet. Because I don't know what is going to happen. I'm really crazy busy with The Walking Dead right now. But you know what? Write this up. Tweet the [frick] out of it. If the fans want me as Rocket Raccoon, Marvel will listen to you guys, I think, sometimes...Perhaps I will be lucky and blessed enough to go in there, and go at it with Mr. Gunn again, who knows?"

SPECULATION: Nathan Fillon Star-Lord In GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY?

An an interesting casting rumor has begun to spread. It supposes that Canadian actor Nathan Fillon (Firefly, Castle) could be already cast as Star-Lord in Guardians of The Galaxy. Fillon is no stranger to either Joss Whedon and possible director James Gunn. Starring in Whedon's first feature Serenity and Gunn's Slither. There had been fan casting linking Nathan for Ant-Man but it's possible that Fillon could be heading into space again instead. The actor previously stated he wanted no part of Ant-Man, was this the first hint?

Director James Gunn Wanted For 'Guardians Of The Galaxy'

HeatVision reports that genre director James Gunn is wanted by Marvel Studios to helm Guardians of The Galaxy. Gunn is best known for directing smaller genre films such as Slither and Super. He also has a connection with Joss Whedon working on Angel. Whedon will be the creative voice of the film as it will likely lead to Avengers 2.

James Gunn's Super Gets April's Fools Release Date!

James Gunn's ultra-violent superhero comedy Super has been set to be released on April 1st. The film is being compared to Kick-Ass but isn't based on existing source material which is nice to see. There are some short clips floating online which sold me on the film. Hopefully this means the trailer won't be too far away.

Reynolds Talks Deadpool & James Gunn Should Direct

HeroComplex was able to sit down with Ryan Reynolds about his other comic book franchise in-the-making Deadpool. Previously it had been rumored Reynolds could leave the project to focus on other films and possibly be forced out by two Green Lantern sequels. The way Ryan talks about the character it's clear he's very committed to Deadpool and making sure it's faithful.

“It goes in such a different direction than a superhero movie usually goes. It’s a nasty piece of work. It’s just based in so much emotional filth, completely. It’s like ‘Barfly‘ if it were a superhero movie. It sort of treads into the world of an emotionally damaged person. I always say that Deadpool is a guy in a highly militarized shame spiral…. It’s so different than the superhero movies to date, it departs so far from that.”

“With Deadpool, it’s a lot like going to prison for the first day,” Reynolds said. “You got to walk up and hit the biggest guy you see to establish a bit of cred. With Deadpool, early on you have to establish that moral flexibility. There’s a gamble to it — you’re going to lose a few people right at the beginning but you take the gamble and know that eventually you’re going to win them back. You won’t lose the hard-core fans of the character, they already know who he is. We have to play to a broader audience than that. As an actor you have to be willing to do something like … back in Vancouver we used to call it a [nasty] burger. ’You gotta eat the [nasty] burger to get to the cookies.’ And yes, I want to write a cookbook about that…”

“The comics are very inconsistent in the writing,” Reynolds said. “All the different writers, different voices, but at the core of the character his heart is really interesting. He’s the funniest guy you’ll ever meet, too, and for me that’s exciting but it’s not as hard as capturing that moral flexibility, which is so important. He hasn’t really experienced the full spectrum of human emotion the way most people do.”


While there has been an offer sent out to Robert Rodriguez to direct. His busy schedule of Spy Kids 4 and possibly Sin City 2 afterwords it seems unlikely he'll be able to commit. So who should 20th Century Fox at look next? My vote has to go to James Gunn who is gathering some positive buzz for his superhero comedy Super. The film is being talked up as the next Kick-Ass which speaks highly for the film. Gunn previously landed on people's radar for his horror comedy Slither. I believe Gunn's sense of humor could fit perfectly into the world of the Merc With A Mouth.