From the moment that Vin Diesel starting teasing a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there was talk that the Fast & Furious star could be set to play the cosmic villain Thanos, who was teased during the mid-credits scene of Joss Whedon’s The Avengers.
Of course, it was subsequently revealed that Diesel would instead be playing Groot, the tree-like member of Guardians of the Galaxy; meanwhile, Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige revealed that Thanos will appear in the August release and the role has been cast, leading to more speculation that Diesel could be appearing in dual roles.
Well, according to Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, Diesel is NOT playing Thanos, although it seems Marvel are keeping tight-lipped about who will be bringing the big bad to the screen: “You’ll have to wait and see,” stated Gunn during a Facebook Q&A (via ScreenCrush). “BUT IT IS NOT VIN DIESEL. He is Groot.”
So, assuming Gunn’s telling the truth and Diesel isn’t playing Thanos, who would you like to see as the Mad Titan?
Guardians of the Galaxy is set for release on July 31st in the UK and August 1st in North America, with James Gunn (Super) a cast that also includes Chris Pratt (The Lego Movie) as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana (Star Trek Into Darkness) as Gamora, Dave Bautista (Riddick) as Drax the Destroyer, Bradley Cooper (American Hustle) as Rocket Raccoon, Vin Diesel (Fast & Furious 6) as Groot, Benicio Del Toro (Sin City) as The Collector, Lee Pace (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) as Ronan the Accuser, Karen Gillan (Doctor Who) as Nebula, Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond) as Korath, John C. Reilly (Step Brothers) as Rhomman Dey, and Glenn Close (Damages) as Nova Prime Rael. Watch the latest trailer here.
Originally published May 26, 2014. Updated December 13, 2019.
