One of the nicest things about indie director James Gunn taking hold of a big blockbuster like Guardians of the Galaxy is that it gave him the opportunity to work with his indie actor friends on a gigantic stage. We've already written at length about Sean Gunn, James' actor brother who filled in as Rocket Raccoon on set, and we know that Nathan Fillion has a mysterious cameo role in the movie, but now it's time to shine a spotlight on one of Gunn's other favorite performers: Michael Rooker.
In Guardians of the Galaxy, Rooker stars as Yondu, a close associate of Star-Lord's, but only now is the marketing for the film finally paying attention to him. James Gunn gave us a silhouetted view of the character in late June, and the most recent extended trailer for the movie finally showed him in action, but now Marvel has released two official stills featuring the blue alien. In the image up top you get a good idea of his serious face (while he's flying a spaceship), and below we see him hanging out with his gang, The Ravagers. That's actually Sean Gunn on the left side of the screen, playing Yondu's sidekick Kraglin.
This is a pretty stellar makeup job, and Rooker looks surprisingly awesome blue. I'm sure that the director put the actor through hundreds of hellish hours in the makeup chair for Guardians of the Gaalxy, but it honestly couldn't have been worse than some of the actor's scenes from the last act of James Gunn's Slither. Remember that practical makeup job?
Yondu's precise role in relation to the plot of Guardians of the Galaxy remains a bit of a mystery, but it's honestly kind of nice that some secrets are being held for the big screen (especially when all of the trailers and TV spots are showing off new footage everyday. The countdown clock to the film's release is getting closer and closer to the end, however, as the release date is just three and a half weeks away now. You can be sure that we will have tons of awesome coverage for you, so be sure to come back the week of August 1st. You're welcome!
