Get Your First Glimpse At Michael Rooker In Guardians Of The Galaxy

Post by James Gunn.

A week from today, Guardians Of The Galaxy is going to unspool a select 17 minutes of moments from the finished film in IMAX theaters across North America. In those scenes we will probably see a lot of characters and moments that we've already seen hints of in the trailers and marketing for the film. However, it wouldn't be that much of a first look if the audience didn't get a look at something, or in this case someone, new to grow their hunger for the film's arrival. It's possible that one little special bit could be the long-awaited reveal of Michael Rooker's Yondu, who was the subject of a photo tease posted today by director James Gunn.

As usual, Facebook is the place to go for Gunn's latest treat for comic and non-comic fans alike. As you can see above, along with a silhouetted photo of Yondu, the filmmaker also provided some key information regarding how the character came to be in the movie and why he's being played by Michael Rooker.

How awesome is it that Marvel not only had faith in including this storied Guardians Of The Galaxy character, but also approve the casting of veteran character actor and frequent Gunn collaborator? Sure, there have been some moments of sparring with collaborators in the studio's history, and there have been times where everything didn't work out, but don't forget that they've made many great moves where they have handled things just right.

In his comic incarnation, Yondu is an eventual member of the Guardians Of The Galaxy, and at one point he even gets to team up with Captain America, Fantastic Four's The Thing, and Sharon Carter on a mission to reclaim New York City after a particularly effective alien invasion. The character's film incarnation sounds somewhat different according to the official Guardians Of The Galaxy character summary:

Blue-skinned Yondu is an interstellar bandit who has a less-than-perfect paternal relationship with Peter Quill. As leader of the outlaws known as Ravagers, Yondu and his cohorts pillage their way through the galaxy, taking whatever they want for solely their own benefit.

As the latest trailer for Guardians Of The Galaxy has shown us, Peter Quill is taken from Earth as a young boy. What the trailer doesn't tell us are the exact circumstances as to why he left the planet. If you've done some spoilerific digging on the internet, you have a possibly accurate lead on where the inclusion of Yondu's character might be going. Provided that the information out there is accurate, of course.

We're about a month away from James Gunn's Guardians Of The Galaxy rocking our own universe, and Michael Rooker is no small part of that rocking. The man is a legend among character actors, and his previous work with Gunn in movies like Slither and Super is nothing short of memorable. His addition among the cast of actors, both new and old to the Gunn group, is just another one of those directorial stamps that gives me confidence that this is going to be a movie that's as epic and fun as it looks. Now if only we knew who fellow Gunn collaborator Nathan Fillion is going to be playing.

Guardians Of The Galaxy takes off on August 1st.

Mike Reyes
Senior Movies Contributor

CinemaBlend's James Bond (expert). Also versed in Large Scale Aggressors, time travel, and Guillermo del Toro. He fights for The User.