With production due to kick off pretty soon, director James Gunn is fast fitting together the cast of Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy. The latest to join is Benicio Del Toro, according to Deadline, who’s set to play an unidentified but pivotal character, who it seems will also be included in future Marvel movies.
The Oscar-winning actor joins a cast that includes Chris Pratt (Peter Quill), Dave Bautista (Drax the Destroyer), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), and Michael Rooker (Yondu), along with Lee Pace, Ophelia Lovibond, Glenn Close and Karen Gillan. Lee Pace is believed to be playing the main villain known as The Collector, although that has not been confirmed at this time.
There’s been immediate speculation about who Del Toro will play, with most of it surrounding the two characters we know will be in the movie but who haven’t been cast yet – Rocket Raccoon and Thanos. Some are saying it will be Rocket Raccoon, thinking the way Del Toro speaks fits well for a talking raccoon from space.
However speculation seem to be leaning towards Thanos, a villainous character who popped up in the end credits of The Avengers, but who we knew would be recast for subsequent appearance. He’s going to be a key but relatively small role in Guardians, but is likely to become more central in Avengers 2 & 3.
There have been rumblings for a few months about Matt Smith possibly leaving Doctor Who behind, especially after his Hollywood career started potentially taking off when Ryan Gosling cast him in his directorial debut, How To Catch A Monster.
US audiences couldn’t get enough of movies over the Memorial Day holiday, but the box office came down to earth with a bump this weekend. While Fast & Furious 6 held onto the number 1 spot, it dropped nearly 65% from its opening to take $34.5 million. The Hangover Part II also dropped 60% in its second weekend, with $15.9 million and a sixth place finish.