Michael Rooker has had a bit of career boost recently thanks to his role in The Walking Dead. Now he’s heading for film as he has signed on to star in Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy as Yondu, according to Deadline.
The character first appeared in a 1969 issue of the comic book Marvel Super-Heroes. He hails from the Zatoan tribe on Centauri IV, the first planet to be colonised outside of the Sun’s solar system in the 29th Century. Yondu does not possess any super-human abilities, but he is a skilled hunter with a bow and arrow, and has a mystical ‘sixth sense’ that gives him limited empathic abilities with other life forms.
He was one of the founding members of the Guardians of the Galaxy and in the comics Yondu has blue skin and sports a feathery Mohawk, but it’s not clear if that will follow through into the movie.
Michael Rooker joins Chris Pratt as Peter Quill, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer and Zoe Saldana as Gamora. James Gunn is directing from his own screenplay, based on the Marvel comic books. Shooting will kick off in the UK later this year, with an August 1st, 2014 release set.