Last night Latino Review reported that they’d uncovered the identity of director James Gunn’s number one pick for the voice of Rocket Raccoon in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, stating that Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, Silver Linings Playbook) was in talks with the studio about joining the cast of the cosmic space epic. The site hasn’t exactly had the best of track records lately when it comes to scoops, but this time it has to be said that they were bang on the money, with multiple sources now confirming that negotiations between Marvel and Cooper are indeed underway.
Should Cooper sign on for a role in Guardians, he’ll complete a cast that also includes Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation) as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana (Star Trek Into Darkness) as Gamora, Dave Bautista (Riddick) as Drax the Destroyer, Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead) as Yondu, Benicio Del Toro (Sin City) as The Collector, Lee Pace (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) as Ronan the Accuser, Karen Gillan (Doctor Who) as Nebula, John C. Reilly (Step Brothers) as Rhomman Dey, Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond) as Korath the Pursuer, and Glenn Close (Damages) as the leader of the Nova Corps. Vin Diesel (Riddick) is also said to be finalising a deal to lend his voice to Groot.
Meanwhile, Heat Vision has also confirmed the reports from earlier this week suggesting that Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene, Oldboy) is in negotiations with Marvel about joining the cast of 2015’s The Avengers: Age of Ultron as Scarlet Witch. These talks are said to be further along than Cooper’s, and could potentially see Olsen reuniting with her Godzilla co-star Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who seems to be all but nailed on for Scarlet Witch’s sibling Quicksilver.