Marvel Has A Short List Of Actors For Star-Lord In Guardians Of The Galaxy

By Brent McKnight | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

Marvel Studios is getting busy setting the stage for their upcoming movie adaptation of Guardians of the Galaxy, their next big sci-fi/superhero franchise. Along with director James Gunn (Slither), they’re putting together a short-list of ruggedly handsome actors to take the role of Peter Quill/Star-Lord out for a test drive.

Deadline reports that the five-man list looks like this: Joel Edgerton (Zero Dark Thirty), Jack Huston (Outlander, Boardwalk Empire), Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas), Lee Pace (The Hobbit, Pushing Daisies), and Eddie Redmayne (Black Death, Les Miserables). All of these actors are confirmed to be in the running for the part, but more may come into play by the end of the day. That makes sense; who doesn’t want to get in on the ground floor of the next big superhero family?

Born during a strange astronomical occurrence, Quill is send to an orphanage after an alien kills his mother, and he ultimately becomes a NASA astronaut. Through a series of unusual events, he becomes Star-Lord, and heads up a team of alien badasses that help him keep the galaxy safe from all manner of villains, monsters, warlords, and general nasty folks.

This is a strong list of potential actors, but there’s also a rather wide array of types. Where the studio takes the story will likely go a long way in deciding who gets the part. Edgerton feels like the most typical macho tough guy of the bunch. You could buy him as the leader of a rugged gang of space heroes. Redmayne is super baby-faced, a quality that could come in handy in an origin story. Sturgess has a similar vibe to him. As much as I like Pace, he seems like a strange choice to play the heroic lead. I think of him more as a tall, lanky sidekick.

What about Huston for the role? I like that. Not only does he have the ridiculous good looks of a leading man, but he’s also at an age where he could pull off the younger portions of the story, as well as the latter years. And he’s awesome on Boardwalk Empire, as a former sniper with half a face. Out of this list, my choice would be Huston or Edgerton. What do you think?