Guardians of the Galaxy To Get Diesel? (Updated with Comic Con Footage)
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Alternate headline: Guardians of the Galaxy: The Fast and the Foliage-est.
From the Casting News That May or May Not Be Nothing More Than a Rumor Department comes word that everybody’s favorite fast car go zoom zoom movie actor/documented nerd Vin Diesel may be supplying the voice of Guardian of the Galaxy (and Treebeard love interest in your most depraved thoughts) Groot. From Deadline:
The Fast and The Furious franchise actor is in negotiations to join Marvel’s newest ensemble tent pole, I’ve learned. If it all works out, Vin Diesel would play the tree-like alien in the James Gunn-directed Guardians of the Galaxy, sources say. Earlier today, Diesel posted a captionless pic of Groot up on his Facebook page. For a while the drawing from the GOTG comic (see left) stood as his cover page before being taken down and then disappeared all together from his public timeline. Studio boss Kevin Feige made no mention on August 10 of Diesel joining GOTG during Marvel’s presentation at Day 2 of D23. Marvel showed the same footage from the recently started lensing GOTG, which stars Chris Pratt, Benicio del Toro, Zoe Saldana and Glenn Close, as he did at Comic-Con in July. The Groot character can absorb wood to gain strength and recover from injuries as well as control trees. While hyper-intelligent, the alien seems to only ever say the line “I am Groot” over and over to those who cannot hear his real voice.
More than simply existing to provide journalists with fodder for countless wooden acting jokes, this story actually seems plausible to me. I can totally see the subversive James Gunn pulling a stunt like hiring a high-profile star of Diesel’s magnitude simply to say one line repeatedly. In fact, I think that would be kind of awesome. Expect to hear more about this — as well as possible confirmation — in the days ahead. Until then, what do you all think? Do you want to see Diesel get his Groot on in Guardians of the Galaxy?
Update: Here’s the leaked footage that has been making the rounds today. Enjoy it while it lasts:
My awesome pet raccoon by dev1359
I think I speak for everyone when I say HELL YES. Thoughts?
About The Author
Chris Cummins is a pop culture writer and Archie comics historian who has contributed to The Robot's Voice, Den of Geek US, Philebrity, Geekadelphia, Uproxx, and Unicorn Booty. He is the co-producer and co-host of Nerd Nite Philadelphia, and is regularly involved in producing and hosting New York Super Week events. In 2014, Chris began Sci-Fi Explosion, a mix of live performance, trivia and funny clips celebrating the weirdest in science fiction that regularly travels around the United States. He wrote the introductions to the compilations Archie's Favorite Comics From The Vault and (with Paul Castiglia) Archie's Favorite High School Stories. You can find Chris on Twitter at @bionicbigfoot and @scifiexplosion.