Back in June, Vin Diesel shared with his fans that he would be meeting with Marvel for an unknown reason. Later, we learned that he would be taking the role of Groot, the muscle/house plant of Star-Lord’s team in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’. Now, the actor opens up about how this whole thing came about. Naturally, he doesn’t give a whole lot away, but we have a better idea of what’s going on.

In an extended interview with Maria Menounos, the ‘Riddick’ star explained that he wasn’t originally being called in for the role of Groot. Apparently, there is some mystery Phase Three project that was discussed during the meeting, but Kevin Feige and James Gunn decided to throw this part Diesel’s way after the fan reaction at this year’s Comic-Con when he was asked about his dealing with Marvel. Here’s the story in his own words:

“When I met with Marvel it wasn’t for anything immediate, it was to talk about a film that would be introduced in the Phase 3 part of Marvel, not for a few years. You wouldn’t be able to see it for a few years. In my mind, Marvel were doing it right, they were enrolling me at the ground level which is the best way to enroll me.

I had heard people over the last year, people saying on the social media page saying ‘What’s up Vin? Why aren’t you going to Marvel? Why aren’t you doing anything with Marvel? It would be a crime of cinematic history for you not to be in [Marvel movies]’

So I was thinking ‘This Marvel thing is really becoming really important for these people. What can I do? What should I think about?’

I get the call, I go down to Marvel. A great meeting. It was even talking about something so big I can’t even talk about because it’s like the merging of brands in a way, which I won’t get into. That was something way, way, way, way, way down the road.”

When the actor mentions a “merging of brands”, I highly doubt that he means that his characters from ‘xXx’ or the ‘Fast and Furious’ franchise will be making their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut somewhere down the line. The obvious answer would most likely refer to the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy joining forces in ‘The Avengers 3’ since the intergalactic team reportedly won’t be featured in ‘The Avengers: Age of Ultron’, but the possibilities are endless right now.

It’s possible that the project involves the company’s future in television. Maybe they talked about introducing a new team into their movies featuring previously established characters like The Defenders (which usually consists of Hulk, Doctor Strange, and Namor, but would probably be changed since that last guy belongs to another film studio). The only people who probably know for sure are the people in that meeting, but we can definitely speculate about what larger role Diesel could be taking in the future with Marvel. Personally, I’d like it to involve Heroes for Hire in some way, but that’s mostly wishful thinking that Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Misty Knight, Shang-Chi, and the gang make it to the big screen eventually.

To hear about Diesel’s experience at Comic-Con this year, the challenges of playing a character that’s mostly known for saying one line, and who really gave that extra push for him to take the part in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (Spoilers: It’s a really adorable answer.), check out the interview below around the 50-minute mark:

Do you have any thoughts or theories about what Vin Diesel’s big Marvel project in 2016 is? How do you feel about him playing Groot in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’? Sound off 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.

Source: Bleeding Cool