The rumor mill has been running rampant lately for Guardians of the Galaxy, the only non-sequel on Marvel Studios' Phase 2 line-up, but some recent credible news has come in. The first rumor that linked John C. Reilly to the James Gunn-directed film said the Step Brothers actor was offered the role of Rhomann Dey, leader of the Nova Corps. But Deadline now reports that Reilly is really playing "Ronan 'The Accuser' Dey," a member and once-leader of the Kree alien race. Interestingly, the report lists John C. Reilly's character's last name as "Dey" which either indicates that Marvel could be merging Ronan & Rhomann for the film, or Deadline's sources are uncommonly a bit off.
The previous Guardians rumors reported that the film version of Rhomann Dey would just be a "human agent who serves as a go-between, keeping the Guardians in line and reporting to S.H.I.E.L.D. about their activities." But with John C. Reilly playing Ronan, who was first rumored to feature in Guardians of the Galaxy last month, that character was born on the planet Hala. And like all the characters in the film so far, Ronan has ties to the villain Thanos (who Deadline seems certain will appear). The Ultimate version of Ronan the Accuser was even a son of the mad Titan.
Deadline has updated their report acknowledging that they "got it backwards." It seems the previous rumors were legit; John C. Reilly will play Rhomann Dey in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Starring Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Michael Rooker, Ophelia Lovibond, John C. Reilly, Enzo Cilenti, Lee Pace, Karen Gillan and Glenn Close with Benicio Del Toro, Guardians of the Galaxy is written & directed by James Gunn, and is set to be released in theaters on August 1, 2014.