Back in June, ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise star Vin Diesel revealed that he was called in to meet with Marvel. No details emerged from that meeting, so fans were left to speculate on which future project he could be a part of. But now it appears that he could be joining his ‘Riddick’ co-star Dave Bautista for James Gunn’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ in a very unexpected role.
According to Deadline, Diesel is currently in talks to play Groot, the muscle/house plant who stands beside Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, and Rocket Raccoon to keep the universe safe. Previously, it was thought that either Jim Carrey or Adam Sandler would be filling the role, but it looks as if Marvel Studios went in a completely different direction.
The news was first hinted at on the actor’s Facebook page, where his cover photo was changed to a picture of Groot with no caption, as seen above. He has since replaced the photo and the picture has been hidden from his timeline. Though shortly after the picture was posted, reports surfaced that Diesel was indeed in contention for the role. It is very interesting though that this wasn’t announced this past weekend during the D23 Expo, where Marvel had a presentation that showed off some ‘Guardians’ footage.
It’s also interesting that they’d get such a big name to play a character that only says, “I am Groot” in a few different ways. When news of Diesel’s Marvel meeting was announced, I brushed off the possibility of him playing the Monarch of Planet X and suggested that he play the Absorbing Man somewhere down the line, but Marvel has a way of proving me completely wrong in ways that I end up enjoying very much later on. So for all we know, this could be an amazing casting choice. We’ll just have to wait and see if it ends up going that way whenever the announcement is officially made.
What do you think about Vin Diesel playing Groot in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’? Are you a fan of this potential casting? Let us hear all about it in the comment section.
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ starring Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Lee Pace, Glenn Close, John C. Reilly, Karen Gillan, Benicio Del Toro, and Michael Rooker blasts off on August 1st, 2014.
