Let's begin with a reminder of how this all began. In
August of 2011,
Marvel released to
Disney shareholders a schedule of upcoming films. On that slate, were two
"Untitled" Marvel films opening up in 2014. We would later find out that one was the sequel to
Captain America, but the
second film remained a
mystery up until
June of 2012.
Latino Review: 6/28/2012
Marvel’s plan has been 2 superhero movies in their Unified Film Universe each year. Next year will bring us the new entries into the ‘Thor’ and ‘Iron Man’ and 2014 will bring us ‘Captain America 2′ and…GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.
- It will be announced as Marvel’s second 2014 movie at Comic Con.
- Thanos is in it.
- It will “lead up to” The Avengers 2 in 2015
Verdict: FACT!
What can you say, Latino Review was spot on with this one.
Production Weekly & It's On The Grid:
8/15/2012
These two industry sites cause quite a stir when both of them post this logline: "A U.S. pilot who ends up in space in the middle of a universal conflict and goes on the run with futuristic ex-cons who have something everyone wants.”
Verdict: NOT SURE!
Some of you will say, "Come on, that's gotta be fiction," but it really isn't that far off from what the film was. Peter Quill/Star-Lord is an american citizen and he does pilot a ship in the film. He is in space in the middle of a conflict between Ronan (Kree) and the people of Xandar. He goes on a journey with people that he was in prison with, thus they are ex-cons. They have the orb, which is something everyone wants. Is it perfect? No. But It is pretty close.
The Hollywood Reporter: 8/18/2012
James Gunn has emerged as Marvel Studios' choice to direct its upcoming space superhero saga Guardians of the Galaxy. After a lengthy search, sources say that Marvel executives now are talking exclusively with Gunn, whose previous credits include the genre films Slither and Super.
Verdict: FACT!
Borys Kit is about as good as you can get. He nailed this one! James Gunn confirmed the info one month later with a post on his facebook page. Kit's report also mentioned the runner-ups: Peyton Reed ("Ant-Man") and Half Nelson directing duo, Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden.
ComicBook.com: 11/09/2012
While we’ve been unable to confirm this as definite, our sources are telling us that Marvel Studios wants to put Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man in the Guardians Of The Galaxy movie.
Verdict: PROBABLY FICTION!
Saying Marvel WANTS to put iron Man in is much different than saying he is in the film. At the end of the day, he did not appear in the film.
Deadline: 11/28/2012
Audition for Peter Quill: Zero Dark Thirty‘s Joel Edgerton, Boardwalk Empire‘s Jack Huston, Cloud Atlas‘ Jim Sturgess, Lee Pace (Lincoln), and Eddie Redmayne from Les Miserables. I’ve also heard of interest from or in Garrett Hedlund, James Marsden (X-Men) and Edgerton’s Animal Kingdom co-star Sullivan Stapleton.
Verdict: FACT!
Several of the actors on this list would later confirm in interviews that they auditioned for the film. Only Lee Pace would be hired, but to play Ronan not Star-Lord.
Variety: 12/21/2012
While Zachary Levi ("Chuck") and Jim Sturgess ("21") remain frontrunners to play Star-Lord, sources caution that an unnamed third actor may be tested after the holidays.
Verdict: NOT SURE!
Were they the frontrunners? Maybe.
Variety is as reliable as it gets, but there is no way to be certain. All we know is that neither got the part. It should be noted that James Gunn fired off a tweet after that "almost everything" in that report was "inaccurate." Then again, maybe I should mark it as fiction. I'm a wishy-washy biotch.
ComicBookMovie.com: 1/3/2013
According to a source, Isaiah Mustafa, Brian Patrick Wade and former WWE Superstar Dave Bautista are all in negotiations with Marvel for the role of ‘Drax’ in Guardians Of The Galaxy.
Verdict: FACT!
Of course our website nailed this one! How dare you think otherwise. Kudos to us! What's that you say, a former CBM user submitted this?
I can't hear you! I'm not listening! La-la-la!
Latino Review: 1/22/2013
Up for unspecified role: Jim Carrey and Adam Sandler.
Peter Quill/Star-Lord candidates: Wes Bentley, Chris Lowell, and Cam Gigandet
.
Verdict: FICTION & NOT SURE!
None of them got a part in the film. Jim Carrey would later comment that there was no truth to the rumors and we all know actors don't lie.
Latino Review: 1/29/2013
El Mayimbe from Latino Review had a scoop based on the Funko Deep Space toy. He reported, "According to sources, at the end of Iron Man 3, Tony actually does go up into space to hook up with the Guardians of The Galaxy where I also hear he appears at the end of that movie as well."
Verdict: FICTION!
This was a hot rumor at the time and several sites reported some variation of it
, but the scene(s) never took place. Also of note: three months after this report, El Mayimbe would have the scoop on the actual Iron Man 3 after-credits scene. It involved Dr. Banner.
Deadline: 2/5/2013
After a long search, Marvel Studios has found its lead for its next big superhero franchise, the James Gunn-directed Guardians Of The Galaxy. I hear the role will go to Chris Pratt, the Moneyball star who bulked up and played one of the hero Navy SEALs in Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty.
Verdict: FACT!
Cough it up for Mike Fleming Jr., he whipped out his hammer and nailed this one!
Latino Review: 2/15/2013
Marvel offered 'Drax the Destroyer' to Jason Momoa. Negotiations were taking place.
Verdict: FACT!
The
Baywatch star would later confirm he passed on the role. A month later, Marvel would sign Dave Bautista for the part.
The Hollywood Reporter: 4/3/2013
Zoe Saldana is in negotiations to play the female lead in Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.
Verdict: FACT!
The
Star Trek Into Darkness actress won the role.
Motorbike Times: 4/6/2013
The Motorbike Times reported, “The comic book movie makers have contacted the Motorcycle Industry Association (McIa) and explained that the bike will be used in a major production that will be shot in England in an imaginary 2045.”
Verdict: FICTION!
The film was not set in 2045.
The Wrap: 4/23/2013
Lee Pace ("The Hobbit") is in final negotiations to play the villain in Disney and Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy," an individual familiar with the project has told TheWrap.
Verdict: FACT!
What's the deal? Jeff Sneider nailed thisl! Lee Pace was the main villain in the film.
JoBlo: 5/21/2013
According to our source the main villain will in fact be Ronan the Accuser, the ruler of the alien race known as the Kree.
Verdict: FACT!
JoBlo wasn't blowing smoke up are butts with this scoop. They nailed it like a boss. Lee Pace played the role of Ronan the Accuser.
HitFix: 5/25/2013
Drew McWeeny posted a ton of information in one article so let's go through each one at a time.
Everyone in this film has a connection of some sort to Thanos.
Verdict: FACT!
Gamora, whose entire race was wiped out by Thanos when she was just an infant. Thanos actually raised her, planning to make her a weapon when she got old enough, and she learned of his plans, leading her to run away. She has superhuman strength and speed, and she's been trained to be a master of all fighting arts, especially involving blades.
Verdict: FACT!
Everything is pretty much spot on. Though, she didn't really seem super-strong or possess super-speed, but whateva.
Drax - actually started life as a saxophone player named Art. He was killed by Thanos in the Mojave Desert, where his "astral form" was later found by Kronos, who was trying to stop Thanos. He used this astral form to create a superhuman warrior named Drax, who can fly and who is practically invulnerable. He can fire cosmic blasts as well.
Verdict: FICTION!
Bautista, playing the saxophone?! That sounds terrible. Also, there was no Kronos in the film, Thanos never went to Earth and Drax had no cosmic blasts.
Rocket Raccoon - he and his partner Wal Russ (a talking walrus) are guards at The Keystone Quadrant, an intergalactic asylum for the criminally insane.
Verdict: FICTION!
None of that was true.
Lee Pace will also be playing a villain who will eventually switch sides so he can be set up for his own spin-off film as… someone?
Verdict: FICTION!
Ronan didn't switch sides. He was evil all the way.
By far, though, the biggest news that's brewing about "Guardians" right now involves a character named Rhomann Dey. They've made an offer to John C. Reilly to play the part, and if he comes aboard, it's a big commitment. Basically, he's been designed as the Agent Coulson of the "Guardians" movies. He's the human agent who serves as a go-between, keeping the Guardians in line and reporting to SHIELD about their activities.
Verdict: FACT!
John C. Reilly was offered the role and accepted it. I would also agree that he was Coulson-like.
There's a hint that we'll see some other familiar faces. Groot, for example, originally comes to Earth looking to experiment on humans, but Nick Fury talks him out of this and convinces him to help us instead.
Verdict: FACT & FICTION!
Groot did appear, but he didn't come to Earth. There was no Nick Fury.
Side note: Drew got some things right and some things wrong. I wonder if the more screwy elements that didn't turn out to be fact were actually changed during a last minute polish. I wouldn't be surprised. Dave Bautista playing a saxophone, that's hilarious.
ComicBookMovie.com: 6/05/2013
However, a very reliable source confirms that Benicio Del Toro will really be playing Taneleer Tivan. Better known as The Collector.
Verdict: FACT!
Benicio did play The Collector. Our very own, DCMarvelFreshman, had the greatest Guardians of the Galaxy scoop of all-time. I'm not even being biased when I say that. Okay, I'm being a tiny-bit bias.
Joblo: 6/19/2013
Our source dropped some information on GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, once again reiterating that Ronan The Accuser WILL be the film’s lead villain and that Thanos does indeed play a large role in the overall scheme of things. In terms of iconic locations, The Guardians will operate out of their base of operations, called Knowhere, a space station with the ability to teleport throughout the universe. Lastly, our source confirmed that there would be no members of THE AVENGERS featured in the film, but that it does take place in the same time/universe as the current phase of films.
Verdict: MOSTLY FACT!
Most of this is right, but some of it is wrong.There were scenes that took place on Knowhere but I wouldn't call it their base of operations. They certainly get points for being the first to mention it as a locale in the film. No member of The Avengers showed up. Though, saying which character(s) won't appear isn't as difficult as saying which character(s) will appear.
Den Of Geek: 7/8/2013
Lee Pace is definitely going to be playing Ronan The Accuser. Karen Gillan, meanwhile, will be playing Nebula in the film.
Verdict: FACT!
By this point, many fans were speculating that this was the case, but Den of Geek was the first site to definitively say it. So, kudos to them.
GuardTheGalaxy.com: 8/11/2013
Guardians of the Galaxy fan site GuardTheGalaxy.com have heard it from an "inside source" that director James Gunn's brother, Sean Gunn, will in fact be playing Rocket Raccoon.
Verdict: FACT!
Yes, Sean Gunn portrayed Rocket Raccoon on the set. He did NOT do the voice work for the character but their info was accurate.
Latino Review: 8/21/2013
According to my trusty sources out of England, Marvel just made the offer to Bradley Cooper reps to voice Rocket Raccoon!
Verdict: FACT!
Boom goes the dynamite. El Mayimbe stuck it to the haters with this gem.
Latino Review: 6/20/2014
And, rounding out this checkup on the three major unified franchises, Guardians of the Galaxy. We’re gonna see some Thanos and we’re going to see a post credits scene that has Nova. I think Nathan Fillion cameos as Nova.
Verdict: FICTION!
This rumor came from
Da7e. It is a swing and a miss. There was no Nova. Though, Fillion was in the film, as he voiced one of the alien prisoners.
The Schmoes Know.com: 6/24/2014
"According our very reliable source with intimate knowledge of this and the production has spoken exclusively to us about this and we here at Schmoes Know have our answer: Nathan Fillion will be voicing the part of Cosmo, the psychic Russian cosmonaut dog that has appeared in the Guardians of the Galaxy comics."
Verdict: FICTION!
Ouch! Another swing and a miss with details on the Nathan Fillion cameo. Cosmo did appear, but that was already hinted at by Kevin Feige in previous interviews. No soup for you!
From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team—the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel's “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits—Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand—with the galaxy's fate in the balance.
Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, featuring Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, with John C. Reilly, Glenn Close as Commander Rael and Benicio del Toro as The Collector. James Gunn is the director and the story is by Nicole Perlman and James Gunn, with screenplay by James Gunn. It releases in U.S. theaters on August 1, 2014.