Bradley Cooper Joins Cast of “Guardians of the Galaxy” as Rocket Raccoon

Months of speculation have come to an end and Academy Award nominated actor Bradley Cooper has been confirmed by Marvel to be the voice for Rocket Raccoon in the upcoming Phase 2 film “Guardians of the Galaxy”.

For those of you who are saying, “Who is Rocket Raccoon?”, which is probably most of you, according to Wikipedia,

Rocket Raccoon possesses the normal attributes of an Earth raccoon, including speed (which has been additionally amplified by his training) an acute sense of smell, sight, hearing and touch. He is an accomplished starship pilot, an excellent marksman with the two laser pistols he carries as well as having an affinity for heavy weapons. He is also an excellent military tactician and leader, attributes that help him take charge of the Guardians of the Galaxy when Star-Lord is unavailable.

Cooper as fan-favorite Rocket Raccoon will be joining Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and former WWE wrestler Dave Bautista as Peter Quill, Gamora, and Drax respectively.  “Guardians of the Galaxy” was hinted at with the first post credit sequence for “The Avengers” with the reveal of Thanos, a Marvel super-villain who is in love with death.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” is slated for release in August 2014, being the final Phase 2 film before “Avengers: Age of Ultron”.  This is going to be the first film Marvel has put out that will primarily appeal to the long-time comic book fans.  Most comic book films are designed to appeal to both passionate fans and casual movie-goers, relying on iconic characters like Thor and Captain America who are recognizable to almost anyone.  However, how many people know who Gamora, Drax, and Rocket Raccoon are?  With this being the final film before the next Avengers movie, there’s a lot of responsibility on the part of Marvel to make the casual audience familiar with these characters before the movie comes out.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” also stars Glenn Close, Michael Rooker, John C. Reilly, and former “Doctor Who” star Karen Gillan, who shaved her head for the role of Nebula, resulting in director James Gunn receiving threats from “Doctor Who” fans.