Do the names Joel Edgerton, Eddie Redmayne, Jack Huston, Lee Pace and Jim Sturgess ring a bell? No? Chances are you’ve actually seen them in something – Edgerton in Warrior, Sturgess in Cloud Atlas, Redmayne in My Week With Marilyn, for instance – but maybe never learned the names. Well, you might hear a lot more about them now, because reports have surfaced that all are testing for roles in Guardians Of The Galaxy.
According to /Film, all those actors – and more! – have signed test deals for Marvel’s Phase Two film, which is being prepared by writer/director James Gunn, whose greatest outing thus far has been Slither … and Scooby-Doo. One of these young fellows is likely to play Peter Quill, a NASA astronaut who becomes the leader of the team.
The basic plot description, being quoted by everyone and their mother, is as follows:
A U.S. pilot who ends up in space in the middle of a universal conflict and goes on the run with futuristic ex-cons who have something everyone wants.
Which tells a great, sum total of … nothing about this movie! Great.
Of course these are really, really early reports, as Guardians Of The Galaxy will not see the cineplex until August 2014. Nor are these the only actors being considered. There are reports that Garrett Hedlund, James Marsden and Sullivan Stapleton are also in the offing. There’s lots of time to debate who will play who, and why.
I am somewhat heartened to see a list of largely small-name actors for what are certain to be big-name roles. All are excellent young actors who have cut their teeth both in character and leading roles. None bring a lot of star baggage to the film, but any would work as a new face for a franchise.
There’s no doubt that Marvel seems to be going young on this one; all of these guys are youthful actors, both in age and appearance (though some not by much). They’re a far cry from the slightly older and wiser boys and girls of The Avengers. What’s more, Gunn and Marvel are apparently not yet certain what they want for the Quill role yet. Maybe they should get on that one.
As always, we’ll keep an eye on Guardians Of The Galaxy and let you know who gets cast and who passed over. It’s a long road to 2014.