In this week's issue of EW, Kevin Feige discusses Marvel's highly anticipated Phase 2 movies -- and the one that has most fan's curiosity and excitement levels through the roof is undoubtedly James Gunn's
Guardians Of The Galaxy. After all, we've seen
Thor and
Captain America movies, but a space-set adventure featuring a talking raccoon? Definitely uncharted territory! The first actor to be cast in the movie was
Parks And Recreation 's Chris Pratt -- a somewhat unconventional choice.
“He’s a hilariously frumpy, doofy guy in Parks and Rec, and he’s an incredibly kickass ripped guy in Zero Dark Thirty and that’s pretty awesome,” says Feige.
“He’s going to need that in Guardians. That’s a big range right there.” Feige reveals that casting the role was not an easy task, and many young actors were screen tested.
“We did a lot of auditions, a lot of screen tests, just as we did for Thor, just as we did for Cap.[Pratt] was hilarious, he was moving, he was … you bought him in the early versions of the outfit.” Also, it seems another member of the team was cast based on his chemistry with Pratt -- former WWE champion Dave Bautista. We had heard that he had signed on to play Drax, but this is the first time the actor has been mentioned by anyone officially involved with the movie.
“One of the reasons Bautista got the part was because his banter, and ad libs, and screen tests with Pratt were awesome,” reveals Feige.
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Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.