Benicio Del Toro Joins Guardians Of The Galaxy

By Rudie Obias | Updated

This article is more than 2 years old

Benicio del Toro

As we creep closer to a late June production start on Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, it looks like the comic book movie studio and director James Gunn have landed another high-profile actor for the cosmic superhero movie. It’s been announced that Benicio Del Toro is joining the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy, although we don’t know who he’ll play just yet. Del Toro is the second major, award-winning actor to join the fourth installment in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe Phase Two. (He’ll join Glenn Close, who was confirmed for the movie last week.)

As reported on Deadline, Benicio Del Toro has signed a multi-picture deal with Marvel Studios, which means, whatever his role, it will stretch beyond just Guardians. Thanos maybe?

Benicio Del Toro won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic in the year 2000. Since the win, del Toro has appeared in Sin City, 21 Grams, and reunited with director Steven Soderbergh for the two-part film epic Che in 2008. Del Toro also famously turned down the role of John Harrison in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Into Darkness.

Marvel Studios and James Gunn have been really busy filling out the roster on Guardians of the Galaxy in recent weeks. We just saw Doctor Who actress Karen Gillan added to the superhero movie as so-far-unknown lead female villain. Gillan will join Lee Pace and Michael Rooker as a trio of villains. The aforementioned Glenn Close will play the leader of the Nova Corps, an intergalactic police organization from the planet Xander. Benicio Del Toro joins a cast that includes Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista.

Hey, maybe Benicio Del Toro is playing Rocket Raccoon. Groot? How about Stilt-Man?

Guardians of the Galaxy will hit theaters everywhere on August 1, 2014, in 3D.