Star-Lord Cast in Guardians Of The Galaxy

Deadline reports that Chris Pratt will play ‘Star-Lord’ in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy. He beat co-star Joel Edgerton and the likes of Boardwalk Empire’s Jack Huston to nab this lead role. The actor recently bulked up considerably in order to play one of the heroic Navy Seals in Academy Award nominated movie Zero Dark Thirty. He also impressed critics as ‘Scott Hatteberg’ in Moneyball and has tacked comedy in the likes of Parks and Recreation, The Five-Year Engagement and most recently Movie 43.itfinal

For those non-comic readers who have no idea who or what Star-Lord is then here’s a breif breakdown that should assist you.

Star-Lord first appeared in 1976’s Marvel Preview #4, as created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Steve Gan. From the moment of his birth, there were doubts as to his true parentage, and by his 11th year, he learned unmistakably that there was more to his background than that of a simple Earth boy, when he witnessed his mother’s murder at the hands of an alien raiding party. No one believed young Peter, but he became determined to seek vengeance upon his mother’s killers, and made it his lifelong goal to enter NASA’s space program, so he could one day reach the stars and deliver retribution.

However, his obsessive outlook led to him growing up to be an “unpleasant, introverted jerk” in the words of his creator, and NASA determined that his social difficulties made him unsuited for more important space missions. He was relegated to serving on a near-Earth space station, when the moment came that would change his life forever. As the crew observed a solar eclipse, an alien presence made itself known to them, and informed them that 14 days hence, when the moon itself would be eclipsed, a crew member of their selection would be chosen to become “The Star-Lord.”

Quill volunteered for the honor, but was quickly shot down by NASA’s high command who determined that he did not have enough space experience to be chosen for this duty. Quill, who saw this as his last, best chance to achieve his dream of finding his mother’s extraterrestrial killers, snapped and went on rampage, shooting down his colleagues, and at the last moment displacing NASA’s chosen Star-Lord candidate, winding up transported away in his stead to meet the alien entity known as the Master of the Sun. The Master of the Sun bestowed upon him a new uniform, as well as the power of flight, and a strange weapon bearing resemblance to a gun, but capable of projecting any of the four “elements”; fire, wind, water, and earth. The Master also gave him the opportunity to act out the vengeance he had been seeking voice over news in the form of an elaborate illusion, which made Quill realize he had been wasting his potential, and that as Star-Lord, an entire of universe of possibilities had been opened to him.

Given what we know of the film’s character line-up, and the description of “a U.S. pilot who ends up in space in the middle of a universal conflict,” it seems a safe bet that Peter Quill will remain at the forefront of Marvel cosmic events for some time to come.1Z0-051