Zoe Saldana Joins Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy is my most anticipated of the Phase 2 projects.

It's so weird with characters like Rocket Raccoon, Groot and Star-Lord. The pre-production concept art from last year set the tone. Take one look and you're either with it upfront or nothing will ever sway you. The oddity of it all also means it's not etched in stone to succeed next August.

Marvel is aware of this and rumors we heard for the longest had the House of Ideas going the Richard Donner/Christopher Nolan route. Cast it classy and with names to get you in. During all the online fallout over who would play Drax the Destroyer, Dwayne Johnson was a name heavily championed internally at Marvel. That didn't work out obviously and so far the casting for Guardians follows the winning "Hire Nobodies and Pay Em Pennies" strategy.

The first firm grip of going for recognizable actors has started. Heat Vision reports Zoe Saldana has joined the cosmic cast. She'll play Gamora, the green-skinned humanoid assassin of the group. She's a face audiences know. Neytiri in Avatar, Uhura in the Star Trek films; this isn't her first rodeo in the sci-fi/fantasy realm.