With shooting scheduled to start in just about six months, James Gunn and Marvel are looking for their leading man for GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. Deadline reports that five actors have signed test deals with Disney for the role of Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord.
Those actors are Joel Edgerton (ZERO DARK THIRTY), Jack Huston (BOARDWALK EMPIRE), Jim Sturgess (CLOUD ATLAS), Lee Pace(THE HOBBIT), and Eddie Redmayne (LES MISERABLES). The article also mentions other potential candidates who did not sign test deals. That short list includes James Marsden (X-MEN), Garrett Hedlund (TRON: LEGACY), and Sullivan Stapleton (GANGSTER SQUAD).
Peter Quill, in the comics, is born to a human mother and alien father and eventually becomes a NASA astronaut. During a mission to a space station, Quill is offered the job of Star-Lord (the Marvel equivalent of the Green Lantern Corps) by an alien entity called the Master of the Sun. He eventually becomes the leader of the group we know as the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.
Quill will be a vital role to cast since he will be the sole human member of the team and the connection for the audience to the bizarre team of heroes. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is the riskiest film Marvel has attempted so far. Audiences didn’t really connect with GREEN LANTERN despite the appeal of Ryan Reynolds. This will be a tough sell, but I have faith in James Gunn.
What do you think of the potential candidates to lead the Guardians? My favorite is Edgerton as he seems to have the most screen presence of this group. Lee Pace is an actor I have liked since his days on PUSHING DAISIES but I am not sure he is right for this. Jack Huston rocks on BOARDWALK EMPIRE and would be my dark horse choice.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is slated to open on August 1, 2014.