Chris Pratt. REUTERS FILE
After a long search, Marvel has settled on Parks & Recreation star Chris Pratt as the lead for its outer space-themed Guardians of the Galaxy, Deadline reports.
The film is based on a comic that debuted in 1969 before getting its own series in the 1990s. It is part of Phase Two of Marvel’s cinematic expansion, which officially gets underway with Iron Man 3 this May.
Pratt will be playing Peter Quill, a half-alien, half-human who’s reinvented as Star-Lord – the leader of a rag-tag group of inter-galatic heroes that includes a genetically engineered racoon, a monstrous tree, a reincarnated human and the “Deadliest Woman in the Whole Universe.”
They will be presumably battling Thanos, who was glimpsed briefly at the end of The Avengers.
According to Deadline, Marvel had been on the hunt for its Star-Lord for many months, pursuing Joseph-Gordon Levitt (who opted to do Sin City 2), and testing Joel Edgerton and Jim Sturgess, among others.
Directed by James Gunn (Slither), Guardians will follow sequels to Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, and will be the last film before all the heroes reunite for The Avengers 2 in 2015.
If you’re unsure whether Pratt can do serious, might we remind you, he’s currently in Zero Dark Thirty. You don’t get more serious than that.
Are you excited for Guardians? Let us know what you think of the casting news in the comments below. And if you’re a fan of the book, tell us what you think of the comic.
Guardians of the Galaxy hits theatres Aug. 1, 2014.
Guardians of the Galaxy concept art shows (left to right): Drax the Destroyer, Groot, Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon and Gamora. (Marvel)
