Deadline reports that Benicio Del Toro has joined the stacked cast of Guardians of the Galaxy. Marvel says it’s a lead role, but will not specify the exact part. All they will say is that he’s signed a deal that includes options for multiple movies, because this character is being introduced to have a role in other future Marvel films. We’re thinking he’s playing Thanos, the classic Marvel villain who appeared in The Avengers’ post-credit tease9. Here’s the evidence: (1) All the good-guy leads have been cast, assuming Toro is too famous to play an animated raccoon. (2) When Karen Gillan’s casting was announced, she was called the main female lead, which leaves room for a main male villain. (The already-cast Lee Pace and Michael Rooker would be underlings, which seems reasonable considering their stature.) (3) When Dave Bautista was cast to play Drax the Destroyer, his character was described as “a human resurrected as a green warrior for the sole purpose of killing Thanos.” (4) In the comic books, over the last few years, Thanos appeared in GOTG and then in The Avengers. (5) GOTG will preceed The Avengers and will likely set the film up in some way, as has been the case with these Marvel films. But who knows? Maybe he’s actually playing Keyser Söze.
