UPDATE #2: Vin Diesel Makes It Official “I Am Groot” In GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
Revealing a movie-accurate bust of the sentient tree-like character, Vin Diesel has implied that his deal with Marvel has closed and he's started work on Guardians of the Galaxy by posing with Groot!
“Vin Diesel is a super awesome dude, I can't tell you how much I like this guy,” commented James Gunn via Facebook. “I hope this [photo] puts to rest all the silly Thanos-Vin stuff which people just seemed to make up out of nothing.” The director adds that Diesel was never announced initially: “He said he wanted to do it and we said we were talking to him. Everything else was people guessing and thinking they knew what was going to happen” After confirming that recording sessions for Groot have already begun, Gunn also made note about the Groot bust featured beside Vin Diesel in the photo: “This was the bust we used for reference when shooting. It has changed slightly from this since we started animating him.” What do you think?
UPDATE: In case the photo and comments from James Gunn weren't a good enough indication, Marvel.com has clarified that Vin Diesel will indeed voice Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy.
UPDATE #2: James Gunn has also offered another statement on Vin Diesel's finalized casting:
“Yep it is completely official. AND he's amazing. I never knew someone could say I AM GROOT so many different ways and with such feeling (and that sounds like I'm kidding but I'm not!)”
“Guardians of the Galaxy,” the next epic adventure from Marvel Studios has started shooting at the UK’s Shepperton Studios. Directed by James Gunn (“Slither,” “Super”) from his screenplay, with a story by Nicole Perlman and Gunn, the film will introduce audiences to a whole new side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The all-star cast includes Chris Pratt (“Zero Dark Thirty”, “Moneyball”) as Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana (“Star Trek Into Darkness”, “Avatar”) as Gamora, Dave Bautista (“Riddick”) as Drax the Destroyer, Lee Pace (“The Hobbit,” “Lincoln”) as Ronan the Accuser, Michael Rooker (AMC’s “The Walking Dead”) as Yondu, Karen Gillan (BBC TV’s “Doctor Who”) as Nebula, two-time Academy Award nominee Djimon Hounsou (“Amistad”, “Gladiator”) as Korath, with Academy Award® winner Benicio del Toro (“Traffic”) as The Collector, Academy Award nominee John C. Reilly (“Chicago”) as Rhomann Dey, and six-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close (“Albert Nobbs,” “Fatal Attraction”) as Nova Prime. Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” is slated for an August 1, 2014 release in the U.S. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing the film. The executive producers are Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Alan Fine & Stan Lee; the co-producer is Nik Korda. The creative team includes director of photography Ben Davis, BSC (“Wrath of the Titans”, “Kick-Ass”), production designer Charles Wood (“Thor: The Dark World”), BAFTA-nominated Editor Fred Raskin (“Django Unchained,” “Fast Five”) and Academy Award-winning editor Hughes Winborne, A.C.E. (“The Help,” “Crash”), and Academy Award winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne (“Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Elizabeth The Golden Age”).