Rumors continue to emerge regarding casting of Marvel’s 2014 movie Guardians of the Galaxy.  This month has seen Chris Pratt cast in the role of Star-Lord (AKA – Peter Quill), sources citing an audition of Jason Momoa for Drax the Destroyer, as well as speculation of the incorporation of Jim Carrey and/or Adam Sandler as the voices of Groot or Rocket Raccoon.  An impressive array of talent considering the franchise itself is one of Marvel’s lesser known to the general public.  A beginner’s guide to the Guardians of the Galaxy follows after the jump.

With Chris Pratt now set in the lead role of Star-Lord, it looks like casting is moving right along on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.  Writer/director James Gunn has now posted up in London to continue pre-production on the film with shooting set to begin in a couple of months, and now a new report has surfaced claiming that Gunn and Marvel have settled on the actor that will play Drax the Destroyer.  The character is one of brawn, and he actually began life as a human before his family was attacked and killed by the ubervillain Thanos, after which his spirit was placed in a new, much more powerful body.  Rumor has it that none other than Khal Drogo himself, Jason Momoa, will bring Drax to life.  Hit the jump to read on. [Update: THR now reports that Momoa tested for the role, but has no offer. More after the jump.]

Director James Gunn has the toughest job among Marvel’s Phase Two films.  That’s not to diminish the work happening on Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, and Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy has the most outlandish cast, and will require a ridiculous amount of effects work considering the team includes two green people (Drax the Destroyer and Gamora), a giant-tree man (Groot), and a talking, gun-toting Raccoon (Rocket Raccoon).  The film has already cast Chris Pratt as Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, a character who was born of a human mother and alien father.

Bringing the completely alien characters to life is going to be a tall order, but executive producer Victoria Alonso recently talked about how they’ll handle Groot and Rocket Raccoon.  Hit the jump for more.  Guardians of the Galaxy opens in 3D on August 1, 2014.

After countless shortlist stories and rumors concerning who would play Star-Lord in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, the search for the lead role is finally over, and fittingly the actor is someone who never appeared on any of the aforementioned lists.  Deadline reports that Chris Pratt has been tapped to play Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, a character who was born of a human mother and alien father, and is a master strategist and combat expert who wears an ability-enhancing suit and pilots a psychically-linked ship.  As Guardians features a cast of strange and cosmic characters, Quill was an important role to fill because he will likely act as the audience’s introduction to the vast, unfamiliar Guardians world.  Hit the jump for more.

Ah, we were so close.  With just a few months to go before the release of Marvel’s Iron Man 3, we had managed to stay pretty clear of any major spoilers for the film.  That may or may not have changed, as recent information could have revealed the Shane Black-directed film’s connection to another upcoming Marvel movie.  I’ll keep everything nice and spoiler-free here on the front page, but if you’d like to know more then hit the jump.  Beware, POSSIBLE MAJOR SPOILERS for Iron Man 3 lurk below.  You have been warned.

The casting process on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy continues to move right along, and even though the studio has yet to announce any actors joining the project, they are reportedly looking at some rather interesting names to fill out the cast.  We’ve previously reported on a number of shortlists of actors that Marvel and director James Gunn have been considering for the lead role of Star-Lord, a master strategist and combat expert who wears an ability-enhancing suit and pilots a psychically-linked ship.  Everyone from John Krasinski to Jim Sturgess has been linked to the role, and now a couple more young male actor names have been added to the list of contenders.

More interestingly, though, is the fact that Marvel is apparently looking into nabbing a couple of high profile comedic actors to bring some levity to the film: Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler.

Disney has announced a slew of release date changes.  Briefly:

• The Muppets 2 will be released on March 21, 2014.
• Maleficent has been pushed back from March 14, 2014 to July 2.
• 1952, director Brad Bird’s collaboration with screenwriter Damon Lindelof, will hit theaters in 3D on December 19, 2014.
• Pirates of the Caribbean 5 has been given a July 10, 2015 release date.
• The 3D re-release of The Little Mermaid on September 13, 2013 has been removed from the schedule.
• Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy will be released in 3D.

Hit the jump for more details, including the confirmation of George Clooney in 1952 and Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean 5. [Update: Brad Bird has now stated via Twitter that 3D has not been discussed for 1952, so Disney's press release may have been mistaken.  This doesn't mean the film absolutely won't be in 3D, just that Bird hasn't OK'd it yet.]

Phase Two of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe is set to kick off this May with the release of Iron Man 3, and fans are understandably eager to see what’s in store for this next set of superhero films.  In addition to the excitement of seeing sequels to Iron Man, Thor, and The Avengers onscreen (as well as the addition of Guardians of the Galaxy), we can also take comfort in knowing that there’s one highly talented man overseeing the creative side of it all: The Avengers writer/director Joss Whedon.

Following the ridiculous success of The Avengers, Marvel signed Whedon to write and direct The Avengers 2 and to act as a creative consultant on all of the studio’s other upcoming comic book films.  If that wasn’t enough, Whedon is also writing and directing the pilot for ABC’s S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series.  The incredibly busy Whedon recently spoke a bit about all of the aforementioned projects, offering an update on the status of the Avengers 2 script, when S.H.I.E.L.D. starts filming and his goal for the series, and his involvement on the other upcoming Marvel films.  We also have news regarding when and where Guardians of the Galaxy will be filming.  Hit the jump for your Marvel fix of the day.

The Joseph Gordon-Levitt news continues.  As the multitalented actor prepares to unveil his feature directorial debut Don Jon’s Addiction at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival, he’s been the focus of quite a few news stories over the past week.  We learned last Wednesday that Gordon-Levitt had been added to the list of contenders for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and earlier today it was reported that he passed on a role in Warner Bros.’ Godzilla reboot.  Now it appears that Gordon-Levitt has settled on his next project, as he has committed to a lead role in director Robert Rodriguez’s upcoming sequel Sin City: A Dame to Kill For after turning down the Guardians gig.  [Update: Gordon-Levitt released a statement to explain why he is drawn to the Sin City world: "I love how the first movie uses VFX, not to make fake things look real, but to create a heightened world unburdened by the look and feel of reality.  Plus, nobody makes a badass like Mr. Rodriguez."]

Hit the jump for more, including further details on the cast of Sin City 2.

Earlier today we added Michael Rosenbaum to the shortlist to play Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord) in Guardians of the Galaxy alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jim Sturgess, and Zachary Levi.  One more possibility has surfaced for Star-Lord, but the casting rumors have branched out with a shortlist for Drax the Destroyer.  First up: CBM hears that Marvel is “still high on” John Krasinski for Star-Lord, a “master strategist and combat expert who wears an ability-enhancing suit and pilots a psychically-linked ship.”  Marvel had their eye on Krasinski for Captain America once upon a time.  Although that didn’t work out the studio is still understandably keen on Krasinski.  Peter Quill is set up to be the central character in James Gunn‘s adaptation of the Marvel comic.

For Drax the Destroyer, Marvel is reportedly looking at Isaiah Mustafa, Brian Patrick Wade, and Dave Bautista.  Interesting list: Mustafa is best known as the Old Spice Guy and Bautista is a former WWE professional wrestler.  Wade by comparison is just your typical actor—given his unspectacular resume, we can conclude Marvel is not seeking big names to play Drax, a superhuman warrior created to defeat Thanos.  Hit the jump for character bios.

Just yesterday we reported that Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Looper) was included on the shortlist of actors vying for the lead role in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.  We presumed that, since an earlier report had mentioned an unnamed actor in the mix in addition to Zachary Levi (Chuck) and Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas), Gordon-Levitt was the last candidate.  Well, today’s news brings word that Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville) is also under consideration for the role of Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord.  Hit the jump to get this sorted out.

The list of contenders for the lead in Marvel’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie has gotten a bit more interesting.  We learned back in November that a number of actors were on the shortlist for the role of Star-Lord in director James Gunn’s adaptation of the comic, and just a couple of weeks ago reports surfaced that the search had been narrowed down to Jim Sturgess, Zachary Levi (Chuck), and an unnamed third actor.  Now it appears that said unnamed actor is none other than the multitalented Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  Hit the jump for more.

The coveted lead role of Star-Lord in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy has been narrowed down to three possible suitors. From the original shortlist of actors that were reported as auditioning less than a month ago, only Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas) remains. A new addition in the form of Zachary Levi (Chuck) is also in the mix. The studio also reports that an unnamed actor may test for the lead after the holidays.

Star-Lord, aka Peter Quill, is a human-alien hybrid who is a master strategist and combat expert, wears an ability-enhancing suit, pilots a psychically-linked ship and leads the Guardians of the Galaxy. The film, directed by James Gunn (Slither) is expected to open August 1, 2014. Hit the jump for more on the audition process.

After we reported that Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies) was on the short list of actors for the lead role of Star-Lord in the Guardians of the Galaxy feature, the actor recently confirmed his upcoming audition. This year, Pace has already tackled a historical drama in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, as well as a sweeping fantasy epic in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Pace is now up for Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, a human-alien hybrid who is a master strategist and combat expert, wears an ability-enhancing suit, pilots a psychically-linked ship and leads the Guardians of the Galaxy. Hit the jump for video of Pace confirming the audition and his thoughts on the role.

While rumors continue to swirl around Disney’s Star Wars, Marvel is busy looking for their Star-Lord. A shortlist of actors is reportedly being tested for the lead role in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, directed by James Gunn (Super). Included on that list are Joel Edgerton (Warrior), Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire), Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas), Lee Pace (Lincoln) and Eddie Redmayne (My Week with Marilyn). The leader of the Guardians, Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, was born of a human mother and alien father. He’s a master strategist and combat expert who wears an ability-enhancing suit and pilots a psychically-linked ship. Sounds like a fun role for any one of these guys to make their own, but there have been even more names thrown into the competition. Hit the jump to check them out.