John C. Reilly Confirmed For Guardians Of The Galaxy

His name has been linked with the film for a while now, but the final confirmation has come through via Deadline: John C. Reilly is officially part of the Guardians Of The Galaxy universe, playing Nova Corps man Rhomann Dey.

For those unaware of his background, Dey in the comics was the leader of the Corps on the planet Xander when the place was destroyed by an interstellar pirate named Zorr. Swearing vengeance for those who died (including Dey’s own family), Dey chased Zorr across the galaxy, but ended up mortally wounded. Heading to Earth, Dey chose human Richard Rider to replace him, gifting him the powers needed to go after Zorr.

Of course, how much of that backstory has made it into the Guardians script, and what will change on its voyage to the screen remains to be seen, but Reilly is certainly a great choice for a cast that has become more interesting with every passing announcement.

To recap, the Guardians call sheet now includes Chris Pratt, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Zoe Saldana, Benicio Del Toro, Glenn Close, Lee Pace, Dave Bautista and Ophelia Lovibond. And that’s before director James Gunn finds someone to voice Rocket, the talking racoon with a fetish for weaponry…

Guardians Of The Galaxy is set to start shooting shortly ready for an August 1, 2014 release date.