Villains for “Guardians of the Galaxy” revealed?

Obviously potential spoilers here. Den of Geek supposedly has the inside scoop for the upcoming Marvel Studios film “Guardians of the Galaxy”. According to the site, Benicio Del Toro will be playing the Collector, Lee Pace will be playing Ronan the Accuser and Karen Gillian will be playing Nebula, the grand-daughter of Thanos in the comics.

Nothing has been officially confirmed at this point, but the film also stars Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Michael Rooker, Ophelia Lovibond, Glenn Close and John C. Reilly.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

Del Toro not playing Thanos?

Here’s another surprise. Benicio Del Toro reportedly is not playing Thanos in “Guardians of the Galaxy”. Instead the latest reports have him playing the Collector, an immortal who collects powerful objects and beings, including trying to “collect” the Avengers in the comics. Hm, he seems like a  pretty…silly villain from the outside looking in. But whoever he is playing he’s joining the likes of Zoe Saldana, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, John C. Reilly and more.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” gets more intriguing with new cast addition

“Guardians of the Galaxy” is already one of the more intriguing films on the horizon. It stars Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax The Destroyer, Michael Rooker as Yondu, Lee Pace as an unspecified villain, Glenn Close and John C. Reilly. Now comes news that Benicio Del Toro is joining the cast in an unspecified lead role with options for future films in the Marvel cinematic universe.  Who could he be playing? Rumors are circling that he could be Thanos. Or Dr. Strange. Who do you think he’s playing?

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

Joss Whedon talks Thanos

When Thanos appeared in “The Avengers”, to comic book fans it was huge. He’s one of the gold standard villains. To non-comic fans, they were likely left thinking “Who the heck is that?” Joss Whedon isn’t shying about talking about Thanos. Here’s what he told Screen Rant:

“Well, Thanos is more powerful. He is so powerful; he is not someone you can just trot out and punch him. Like he did in the comics, you want him threading through the universe and to save the big finale for the big finale. He is definitely a part of what I have got going on. The thing about The Avengers is that they are very powerful but not very stable. So, there will definitely be some people that will shake them up in the next installment.”

It makes you think perhaps Thanos is being set up for “The Avengers 3” and not “The Avengers 2”. Anyways, “Iron Man 3” starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Kingsley and more kicks off phase 2 this weekend.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” gets its villain

Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” is picking up the pace. James Gunn is directing. Chris Pratt (“Zero Dark Thirty”) is Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana (“Star Trek Into Darkness”) is playing Gamora and Dave Bautists is Drax the Destroyer. Now Lee Pace (“The Hobbit”) is playing an unknown villain in the film. Thanos is sure to be one of the villains, but if Pace is not Thanos, who could he be? FirstShowing.net has a theory that he’s playing a character known as The Collector.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

Major role cast in “Guardians of the Galaxy”

For a big blockbuster that’s set to come out next summer, we’ve heard little about Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy”. James Gunn (“Slither”) is directing and Chris Pratt (“Zero Dark Thirty”) is playing Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord. Former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista is playing Drax the Destroyer, a former human who was killed by Thanos and resurrected as a green warrior looking for revenge. He can sense Thanos’ presence, which I’m guessing is important for the film. Anyways, earlier reports had Jason Momoa being offered the role, but reports are that they disagreed on pay.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

New “Guardians of the Galaxy” details emerge

“Guardians of the Galaxy” is already shaping up to be a weird blockbuster. It’ll be set 95 percent in space, feature a character named Star Lord, a talking raccoon and more. Now comes word that the Nova Corps will be in the film. They are much like the Green Lantern Corps if I understand everything correctly. From First Showing: first appeared in 1976 and are an intergalactic military force that serves the Marvel Universe. Their power, called the Nova Force, comes from an unlimited energy source found in a living computer (trippy, I know). One of their members is a teenage kid from Arizona named Sam Alexander who has the powers of strength, flight, and resistance to injury. He meets the Guardians of the Galaxy, and in the comics, he’s ultimately asked to become a part of The Avengers.

We still don’t know if Thanos will be in the film or not. But apparently Tony Stark/Iron Man will. James Gunn is directing and Chris Pratt will star.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

Thanos confirmed for “Avengers 2” and “Guardians of the Galaxy

Marvel comics creator and rights holder Jim Starlin confirmed what many people thought, Thanos is going to be in both the upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy”, directed by James Gunn, and “The Avengers 2”, directed by Joss Whedon. There are a couple of characters in “Guardians” that have ties to Thanos so not surprising. If I had to bet right now, I’d say Thanos is the main villain in “Guardians” and perhaps team up with Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) for “The Avengers 2”. I realize Red Skull’s fate was implied he died, but this is the Marvel universe. And, let’s not forget, there were lots of rumors that he was the secret villain in “The Avengers”.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

“The Avengers” returning to theaters

“The Avengers” is returning to theaters this weekend through Sept. 6! Obviously a shot at trying to catch “Avatar” for the No. 2 film on all time grosses domestically, the banner also features a photo of Thanos and the phrase, don’t forget to stay through the credits. Most people know the after credit scenes, though ILM has the same phrase on its website. Makes me wonder if there’s going to be a teaser for “Iron Man 3” attached or some other scene? Anyways, “The Avengers” is the third highest grossing film ever domestically and worldwide, behind “Avatar” and “Titanic”, both from James Cameron.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.

“Guardians of the Galaxy”…what we know so far

Since Marvel Studios officially announced “Guardians of the Galaxy” we’ve heard practically nothing. No stars. No directors. Only that Chris McCoy is rewriting a script from Nicole Perlman. And now, we have this short description: “About 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”

Now, if my research is correct, the pilot is probably Peter Quill or Star-Lord (the guy in the center holding two guns in the concept art). If Thanos plays a major role in this film, one would imagine the thing they have to be the Infinity Gauntlet or the Cosmic Cube. The film is being released in 2014 so it will serve as pretty much a final tie in to “The Avengers 2” so one of those items makes a lot of sense.

I still have issues with Marvel making this film. Another team up? Doesn’t sound like we’re going to get a lot of character development for these characters. That, and they’re not very well known and do we really want to see Thanos as the villain in two straight films? And, with another team up, how will they mix with Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow and Nick Fury? That’s enough characters as it is to try and squeeze into a film.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.