Late last month, we learned that John C. Reilly had been offered a role in Marvel’s upcoming superhero film Guardians of the Galaxy.  Well now it appears that Reilly will indeed be joining the Marvel universe, as Deadline reports that Reilly has officially signed on to play Ronan the Accuser in the James Gunn-helmed film.  In the comics, Ronan is a member of the alien race the Kree and has been portrayed as both villainous and noble at different times.  The character possesses superhuman strength and speed, and wields a long hammer-like weapon called the “Universal Weapon,” which can do considerable damage.  Ronan has also been portrayed as the son of Thanos in the comics, so it’s possible that Reilly will also play a large role in future Marvel films should the studio decide to tie his character into the big baddie that was gleaned at the end of The Avengers.

Reilly joins a truly exciting ensemble for Guardians of the Galaxy that includes Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, David Bautista, Glenn Close, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, and most recently Benicio Del Toro.  Production begins very soon in London in anticipation of an August 1, 2014 release date. [Update: Deadline has corrected its report to note that Reilly will be playing Rhomman Dey in the film, not Ronan the Accuser.]

Benicio Del Toro nearly signed on to a major sci-fi film when he was in talks to play the villain in Star Trek Into Darkness, and while the deal ultimately never came to fruition, it appears that the Oscar winner is going to be appearing in a rather high-profile franchise pic after all.  Deadline reports that Del Toro is the latest actor to join the truly remarkable cast for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.  The nature of Del Toro’s role is being kept under wraps, but it’s said to be a significant character that is poised to also appear in future Marvel movies.  As such, Del Toro’s deal includes the option to appear in a number of Marvel films.  Could the villainous Thanos have finally been cast?  Hit the jump for more.

Doctor Who fans are about to get a Marvel crossover.  No, the good Doctor isn’t stepping in for a role, but his companion is.  Karen Gillan has recently been cast in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy in an unnamed role as the film’s lead female villain.  She’ll join Lee Pace and Michael Rooker on the evil side of the line, while Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and David Bautista will be the film’s heroic leads.  The odd assortment of actors also includes the recently-added Glenn Close and John C. Reilly, though when the lead characters feature a walking tree and a talking raccoon, “odd” becomes a relative term.  Production on Guardians of the Galaxy will begin in the next few months in London and the film opens on August 1, 2014.  News of Gillan’s casting comes via Heat Vision.

The cast for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy continues to fill out in pleasantly surprising fashion.  After learning earlier this week that John C. Reilly is being eyed to play Rhomman Dey, a sort of Agent Coulson for Nova Corps, Deadline now reports that Glenn Close has been tapped to play Dey’s superior in the film.  Close will play what is described as the closest thing to Nick Fury in the Guardians universe, and Marvel is also said to be looking at a number of actors—including Hugh Laurie and Ken Watanabe—to play another role in the film separate from the Nova Corps head.

Director James Gunn has already set Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and David Bautista as his leads, with Michael Rooker and Lee Pace onboard to play the film’s villainous characters.  Close makes an excellent addition to the ensemble, and I look forward to seeing the six-time Oscar nominee play around in the Marvel universe.  As production is set to get underway in the next few months in London, expect to hear additional casting news soon.  Guardians of the Galaxy opens on August 1, 2014.

James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy is going to be one of the strangest films of 2014; that’s pretty much a guarantee when two of your lead characters are a gun-toting raccoon and a talking tree.  Word has it that funnyman John C. Reilly (Step Brothers) has been offered a role in the Marvel film.  While my first thought was that of a voice role for one of the above-mentioned characters (who currently are voiceless), Reilly is being offered a slightly different sort of role.  Comic book fans may be familiar with the name Rhomman Dey, but just how Gunn plans to use that character appears to be a tad unconventional.  A new report also has Marvel showing interest in Hugh Laurie (House M.D.), Alan Rickman (Harry Potter series) and Ken Watanabe (Inception) for an additional role.  Hit the jump for more.

With J.J. Abrams Star Trek Into Darkness opening soon around the world, we recently landed an exclusive phone interview with Zoe Saldana.  During the interview, she talked about making the sequel, how nice it is to finally be able to talk about it, whether Klingon or Na’vi is more difficult to master, filming the bridge scenes first, who the biggest joker on set is and who tries hardest to make the cast break on camera, script changes, and so much more.  We also talked about Nina, Out of the Furnace, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more.  Hit the jump for what she had to say.

Star Trek Into Darkness also stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, and Alice Eve.  The film opens in IMAX 3D on May 15th and in 2D and 3D on May 17th.

Marvel’s biggest challenge in Phase Two is Guardians of the Galaxy.  All of the other films are direct sequels, so not only does Guardians have to bring in five new characters, but it’s also the oddest assortment yet.  Led by half-human, half-alien Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), the team is comprised of humanoid aliens Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), a gun-wielding, talking Raccoon appropriately named “Rocket Raccoon”, and Groot, a giant, walking tree.  Marvel has earned the faith of audiences, and this is where it will be tested.  But President of Production Kevin Feige isn’t worried.  “We can take it to all those crazy places as long as all the characters respond in an emotionally truthful way,” he tells EW.

Hit the jump for what else Feige about the film had to say as well as a new piece of concept art.  The film also stars Michael Rooker, Ophelia Lovibond, and Lee Pace.  Guardians of the Galaxy opens in 3D on August 1, 2014.

Marvel: Phase Two hasn’t even started to hit theaters, but sometimes you just want to rush to desert.  While walking the red carpet at the Iron Man 3 premiere, writer-director Joss Whedon was asked a couple questions regarding The Avengers 2.  First up, since it sounds like Robert Downey Jr. is considering retirement from the Marvel Universe, some may be wondering if we’ll see Iron Man flying around in Whedon’s film.  Whedon responded, “I am not the guy who has to worry about him being replaced. He is Iron Man at this point. When I heard that he was cast I knew that something had just changed, and I usually don’t know stuff like that.”  It sounds fairly certain that Downey is on board for The Avengers 2, but beyond that, Whedon doesn’t know if the actor will continue with the series.

Hit the jump for more including what Whedon had to say about Thanos’ presence in Phase Two.

One of the last major pieces of Marvel’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy film appears to be falling into place.  Director James Gunn has already secured Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), David Bautista (Drax the Destroyer), and most recently Michael Rooker (Yondu) to play his titular Guardians in the film, and just yesterday we learned that Ophelia Lovibond (No Strings Attached) has signed on to play a mysterious character that’s rumored to be an aide to the villainous The Controller.

Well, now it appears that one of the actors that previously tested for the protagonist role of Star-Lord has subsequently been set as the film’s villain, as Pushing Daisies star Lee Pace is in final talks to play the antagonist in Guardians of the Galaxy.  Hit the jump for more.

We’ve got some new casting news for you:

• Ophelia Lovibond (No Strings Attached) has just joined the upcoming Marvel superhero film Guardians of the Galaxy alongside cast members Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and Dave Bautista.
• Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers) and Hayley Atwell (Captain America) joined director Paul Andrew Williams’s (Song for Marion) Close Enough, the upcoming romantic war drama about lovers in France during the height of the Spanish Civil War.
• James Caviezel (Person of Interest) and Michael Chiklis (The Shield) have just signed onto Sony Pictures’s inspirational high school football film When the Game Stands Tall, and they will star alongside Laura Dern and Alexander Ludwig.

Hit the jump for more information on each new casting bit.

As filming is currently underway on Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the next film on the studio’s docket is Guardians of the Galaxy.  Casting has been ramping up lately on the space-set film, with Chris Pratt onboard as Star-Lord, Michael Rooker set to play Yondu, and Zoe Saldana and David Bautista in negotiations to fill the roles of Gamora and Drax the Destroyer, respectively.  Writer/director James Gunn recently took part in a lengthy interview in which he spoke about his plans for Guardians of the Galaxy. In addition to revealing that filming begins at the end of June, he talked about the importance of the character Rocket Raccoon, how he put his cast together, and he addressed comparisons to Star Wars.  Hit the jump to read on.

This shouldn’t really come as a massive surprise, but actor Michael Rooker has now joined the cast of Marvel’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy. Rooker has a close working relationship with Guardians writer/director James Gunn, having appeared in Gunn’s previous films Slither and Super.  He’s probably best known to the general public for playing Merle on AMC’s The Walking Dead, and while most pegged Rooker for the role of Rocket Raccooon in the space-set Marvel film, he’ll actually be tackling the role of Yondu.  Hit the jump for more.

Marvel has found its female lead for the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Casting on the anticipated space-set comic book adaptation had been mum for quite some time until we learned in February that Chris Pratt had been cast as the film’s male lead, Peter Quill aka Star-Lord.  While there appeared to be a bit of a heated negotiations battle taking place between Jason Momoa and David Bautista for the bulky Drax the Destroyer role in the James Gunn-directed film, Bautista eventually landed the gig last month.  As the remaining three members of the Guardians team were Gamora, the talking raccoon Rocket Raccoon, and the giant tree Groot, all eyes were on who would land the final humanoid role of Gamora.

That anticipation ends today, as word now comes that Star Trek Into Darkness actress Zoe Saldana is poised to tackle the part.  Hit the jump for more, including the appearance of a villainous comics character in the film.

Earlier today, we were treated to some images of concept art from Marvel’s Phase Two slate of films, courtesy of the release of Marvel’s Phase One box set today on Blu-ray.  Now, there is a sneak peek video for Marvel’s Phase Two available along with concept artwork and images that provide a look at Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy and even Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man.

Hit the jump to take a look at the video, concept art and images from Marvel’s Phase Two films.

With Marvel finally releasing their Phase One box set today, we’re starting to get a look at some of the extras included on the Blu-ray collection.  Earlier we got a sneak peek at a Phase Two featurette, and now some possible concept art has landed online that may or may not be included in the set.  The artwork provides us with a look at Cap and a transformed Bucky Barnes doing battle in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and also gives us a number of glimpses at director James Gunn’s absolutely massive-looking Guardians of the Galaxy.

Hit the jump to take a look at the possible concept art from Marvel’s Phase Two.  Captain America: The Winter Soldier opens in 3D on April 4, 2014 and Guardians of the Galaxy opens in 3D on August 1, 2014. [Update: A few more concept images from Captain America: The Winter Soldier have made their way online and are now included after the jump, including a first look at The Falcon.]