Pratt consistently brings absolutely perfect comedic timing and exuberance to his regular role as the thick but good-natured Andy Dwyer on the NBC series Parks & Recreation. The actor, who many remember from the series Everwood, recently made a lot out of relatively little with his Navy SEAL role in Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty, and he damn near stole 2011's Moneyball as Scott Hatteberg.
Basically, Chris Pratt is the cat's pajamas, and it was only a matter of time before he secured a big-time franchise part like this one.
That part would be the lead character of Peter Quill aka Star-Lord. According to Deadline, Pratt has secured the role, despite plenty of competition.
Late last year, we learned that Marvel had made test deals with Pratt's Zero Dark Thirty co-star Joel Edgerton, Jim Sturgess of Cloud Atlas, Lincoln's Lee Pace, and Eddie Redmayne of Les Miserables. Other names, such as John Krasinski, Garrett Hedlund, and James Marsden, were also associated with the part. Early this year, Marvel was reportedly attempting to get Joseph Gordon-Levitt on board.
It turns out that Pratt, an actor at no point previously associated with the role, is the man for the job. Between Gunn, the writer-director of Slither and Super, and Pratt, it's safe to assume that Guardians of the Galaxy will have a sense of humor about its cosmic happenings.
Created by writer Steve Englehart and illustrator Steve Gan, Quill is the half-human progeny of an Earthling mother and an extraterrestrial father. A gun-toting interstellar mercenary, Star-Lord comes to lead the eponymous team, which also consists of green-skinned warrior Drax the Destroyer, Thanos assassin-turned enemy Gamora, sentient tree Groot, and, of course, the talking racoon Rocket Racoon. The other members of the team are, at this point, all uncast.
Guardians of the Galaxy is the last movie of Marvel's Phase Two before The Avengers 2 in 2015, and is expected to prominently feature Thanos, the villain teased in the mid-credits moment of The Avengers. The film, Marvel's most out-there so far, is scheduled for release on August 1, 2014.
Huzzah! Chris Pratt playing a Marvel hero!
