Are you Marvel-ed out yet? I’m beginning to get there. With Marvel’s so-called ‘Phase Two’ slate coming up, everyone just can’t get enough of those casting and character rumors. Nothing as been as rumor-tastic as Guardians Of The Galaxy, which seems to greatly excite comic book fans and greatly confuse the rest of us. Now we have one more rumor to add to the growing pile, this one concerning the central villain of the film.
Word reaches us that the villain of the hour, to be played by Lee Pace, might be Ronan the Accuser. Ronan is a member of the Kree, one of the alien races that may have figured into The Avengers story. Ronan, true to his name, is a judge/jury/executioner sort of character, a villain to us but a hero to his people. In at least one iteration, he’s the son of Thanos – that character from the very end of The Avengers who will likely return for both Guardians and The Avengers 2.
Whew. It is really difficult keeping all of these characters straight, especially with the fluid nature of multiple comic universes to contend with. Given that director James Gunn is going to have to explain all of this to those of us not up on our Marvel complexities, and do it in the span of a 2 hour film, going with a villain that has some close connection to the villains of The Avengers might be a good move. Although I have to say that the ‘aliens with a wormhole’ thing was actually my least favorite part of The Avengers.
The cast of Guardians Of The Galaxy already includes Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and Dave Bautista. More casting news shall undoubtedly be forthcoming, as will some solid information on just what the whole story is, both on the villain and the rest of the narrative.
Guardians Of The Galaxy begins shooting this summer for an August 2014 release. Expect more rumors within the hour.