Nobody has really stop talking about "The Avengers" since its release last May. It was the highest grossing film of the year after all and was one of the few films people went out of their way to see more than once in theaters and enjoyed even more on repeat viewings. While talks of a sequel were practically instantaneous with the film's opening weekend and sequels to other films in Marvel's library ("Iron Man 3" is due May 3, "Thor: The Dark World" has a November 8 release, and "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" comes out next April) are just as anticipated, the ending to "The Avengers" has received just as much buzz as the film itself. You can't introduce the Titan who created The Infinity Gauntlet and not expect people to not talk about it. Thanos jumping into live-action Marvel films is something every comic book fan should be excited about.
For those that don't know, Thanos was born on Titan, Saturn's moon, and has a particular liking for nihilism and death (always looked on the bright side of things, obviously). His fondness for death caused him to fall for Mistress Death; an entity in the Marvel Universe that is the physical embodiment of death. Thanos is known best for gathering the Infinity Gems (Time, Space, Mind, Soul, Reality, and Power) and creating the Infinity Gauntlet which in turn can grant its bearer anything he or she desires in the universe.
Comic book writer Jim Starlin, who actually created Thanos, confirmed that Thanos would be the focal point of "Guardians of the Galaxy" before being featured in "The Avengers 2." "The Avengers" director Joss Whedon announced that James Gunn ("Slither," "Super") has signed on to direct "Guardians of the Galaxy" with a take on the material that is said to be "very twisted."
Chris McCoy was brought in last August to re-write the script and while McCoy doesn't really have much of a film resume he does have three scripts that are on the Black List (a list of the best unproduced scripts in Hollywood) and his writing is described as being "comedic and quirky;" something "Guardians of the Galaxy" is known for.
Last week it was reported that Marvel was looking for two A-list comedians to join the "Guardians of the Galaxy" cast. The two names mentioned were Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler. While their roles weren't revealed, the internet and its millions of millions of highly educated scholars (that's all that uses the internet anyway, right?) decided that one of them had to be the voice of Rocket Raccoon. Also mentioned are the actors who are up for the role of Peter Quill who later becomes Star-Lord who is the leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy; Wes Bentley, Cam Gigandet, and Chris Lowell are all up for the part.
It's really surprising that Marvel would bring in James Gunn. If you've seen any of Gunn's work, you know how unconventional and dark his twisted sense of humor can be. It's the type of material most people feel bad about laughing at, but it's so hilarious that you can't help yourself. Marvel is taking this film in a completely different direction than any of the other movies in their catalogue and it has some serious potential to be really freaking good. It seems like the next best thing to seeing that "Deadpool" film finally go into production.
Hearing Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler's names tossed about is a bit disappointing. Did Marvel turn to them because they're recognizable "funny" men who generally bring in decent money? From a comedic stand point, hearing that Marvel was considering the likes of Patton Oswalt, David Cross, or even Louis C.K. would be much more exciting. You're already thinking unusually when it comes to who's writing and directing this film, so why go with obvious choices for the cast? Marvel should be just as unpredictable with the casting. The idea of Wes Bentley playing Star-Lord is pretty awesome though. Bentley is so good at playing weird and unusual characters, but has rarely if ever been the leading man (of anything worthwhile anyway). But this is all coming from someone who hasn't read much of the Guardians of the Galaxy comics, so maybe these actors don't really fit the characters all that well.
"Guardians of the Galaxy" currently has a release date of August 1, 2014. Those of you who are sick of Hollywood churning out the same old crap should keep a special eye on this movie as it promises to be far from ordinary.
Sources: worstpreviews.com, cinemablend.com, imdb.com, wikipedia.org, comicbookmovie.com, blogdesuperheroes.es, thegothamrogue.wordpress.com, nerdnationz.com, wired.com, heroclixin.wordpress.com
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