Krasinski, Bautista and ‘Old Spice Guy’ up for ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, ‘The Raid’ and ‘The Host’ Sequels Approaching

1.) Another day, another few names thrown around for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. I suppose I should be happy this movie exists because without it, what would I write about? At last update (*cough* yesterday *cough*), we were left with three names contending for the lead role of Starlord Peter Quill: Zachary Levi, Jim Sturgess and perceived frontrunner Joseph Gordon-Levitt. A few more names have surfaced since then, with Michael Rosenbaum, who played Lex Luthor for ten years on TV’s “Smallville,” tweeting about reading for the role.

Another source has John Krasinski also in the running for the role. You might remember Krasinski being one of the finalists for Captain America before Chris Evans landed the gig. For what it’s worth, Variety’s Jeff Sneider says JGL has already been offered the role, so the entirety of these two paragraphs could be rendered meaningless if we get official word on the JGL casting. [Comic Book Movie, Bleeding Cool]

2.) Meanwhile, we’re also starting to hear about some potential actors up for the other Guardians’ roles. Marvel and director James Gunn have begun the search for a muscle-bound actor to play “Drax the Destroyer” with Brian Patrick Wade (The Guardian), former WWE Superstar Dave Bautista and “Old Spice Guy” Isaiah Mustafa the first names mentioned as candidates.

It has been a total surprise to me as I always thought he lacked charisma in the ring, but Bautista’s acting career has taken off better than most former wrestlers who make the jump to Hollywood. He had a pretty big role in RZA’s The Man with the Iron Fists and will be seen later this year in Riddick. [Comic Book Movie]

3.) I never saw The Raid: Redemption, but /Film]

4.) Speaking of sequels to movies I haven’t seen, The Host 2 is amping up for a targeted summer 2014 release. No, I’m not talking about a sequel to the Stephenie Meyer alien romance. I’m talking about the 2006 Korean monster movie. First-timer Park Myung-chun is replacing Bong Joon-ho in the director’s chair, while all we know about the plot is that it will feature two different monsters this time around. Some test footage from the film made its way online back in November. [Twitch]

5.) Maggie Gyllenhaal has joined Michael Fassbender in the rock comedy Frank. The film follows a young musician who joins a band led by the enigmatic title character played by Fassbender. Gyllenhaal’s character is described as Frank’s “terrifying sidekick.” The Irish-U.K. production begins filming this month and also features Scoot McNairy, who can be seen in pretty much everything playing in theaters right now. [Variety]

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