When James Gunn was announced as director of Guardians of the Galaxy chatter immediately turned to whether or not a frequent collaborator of...
When James Gunn was announced as director of Guardians of the Galaxy chatter immediately turned to whether or not a frequent collaborator of his, and geekdom's patron saint, Nathan Fillion would be making an appearance. It seemed you couldn't turn anywhere during the casting process without his name cropping up (as it sis want to do with any movie. The man is this generations Bruce Campbell), the no-brainer being Star-Lord thanks to his most famous role, Mal Reynolds in Firefly and Serenity, being so, so similar. The chatter died down for a while, but then it came back with a vengeance when it was revealed that yes, he would be making an appearance. His role wasn't revealed, but that didn't stop the Internet from speculating, with Richard Rider, the human member of space cops The Nova Corps, going to the top of the list quickly. This was no doubt fueled by Marvel's hints that a Nova movie, with Rider as the main focus, could be on the cards, meaning Fillion would take the lead role in a comic book movie, something many a comic book fan (myself included) has wanted for a long time. It got so out of hand, Gunn had to calm people down by saying he wasn't playing Richard Rider, and his role amounted to a "very fun cameo". So, seeing as we are not above a bit of idle fanboy speculation here at The Movie Bit, lets take a look at who he could play.
Cosmo
In recent trailers for Guardians of the Galaxy, you may have noticed a giant head floating in space. That is Knowhere. In the comics, it is a space station, built inside the head of ancient alien being called a Celestial, located at the very edge of space, and the day to day running of the station is watched over by Cosmo, a telepathic and telekinetic Soviet space dog lost in Earth's orbit in the 1960's. For the movie, it is re-purposed as the base of operations fro Benicio Del Toro's The Collector. Seeing as his m.o. is collecting rare and hard to find objects from across the universe, it wouldn't be a stretch to have Cosmo as part of his collection. And just imagine Fillion's dulcet tones, wrapped around a Russian accent, coming out of a dog dressed in a space suit. Wonderful, isn't it?
Adam Warlock
The line up of the Guardians is taken from the 2008 run of the comic, with one notable exception: Adam Warlock. Created to be the perfect human, he possesses enhanced abilities such as superhuman strength and Quantum Magic, which he uses to teleport, and create wormholes and force fields. So, a tad bit over powered for the movies incarnation of a rag tag team of heroes. But he does have in his possession the Soul Gem, which could be his way into the movie. The Soul Gem is one of the Infinity Gems sought by Thanos, who will be making an appearance, voiced by Josh Brolin, and having Fillion make a brief cameo as Warlock before the gem is forcibly ripped from him wouldn't be uncalled for.
Quasar
One of the many heroes who have found a home in the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe, Quasar's power comes from the powerful Quantum Bands, which he can us to fly, shoot energy blasts, and construct objects out of energy (yes, just like Green Lantern. Who, by the way, Fillion would have been perfect for). But while most heroes in the Marvel Universe are noble paragons of justice, Quasar is more of an everyman. Even how his powers work is unique, with the bands almost using him as tool. If Quasar tries to exert too much control over them, the resultant build up of energy will kill him. I can't think of a more perfect person than Fillion to cameo as a cocky, happy go-lucky Quasar, resplendent in his cape lined with stars.
Mal Reynolds
Ok, I'll admit this one is easy, but when you have an actor who's played one of the most lovable space faring rogues this side of Han Solo, why not have him reprise his role one last time? Fillion isn't above an good ol' Firefly reference, see Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters or numerous episodes of Castle, and having him don that brown coat again, interacting with Chris Pratt's Star-Lord, is the stuff of fan boys dreams.
