Vin Diesel Confirmed To Voice... A Tree?

If you ever wanted to see an action star play a tree in a movie, you’re in luck, because Vin Diesel was officially cast to voice the character Groot in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. The actor known for his roles in movies like The Chronicles of Riddick, Fast and Furious and The Pacifier (I really just had to throw that last one in there), will participate in the live-action film alongside the likes of Zoe Saldana, Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, John C. Reilly (yep) and Glenn Close among a slew of other big name celebrities. The film is set to be released in August 2014, and director James Gunn commented on the news, saying that Diesel was not “officially attached, until very recently,” according to BBC News.

Gunn has also expressed his enthusiasm for this addition to the cast, taking to his Facebook page to say, “Yep it is completely official. AND he’s amazing. I never knew someone could say I AM GROOT so many different ways and with such feeling (and that sounds like I’m kidding but I’m not!” Although the actor has played in his fair share of science fiction-fantasy movies, it should be interesting to see him voice a tree. I guess you really need a powerful sounding voice if you’re going to make a tree seem intimidating even in the slightest.

Guardians of the Galaxy revolves around a jet pilot who goes by the name Peter Quill or Star-Lord (Pratt) whose goal is to unite a group of aliens to defeat a cosmic threat. If you’re not already laughing at the prospect of watching a bunch of aliens fight things in space, you’ll be thrilled to know that Cooper will be playing Rocket Raccoon. That’s not just a fancy name either; he will actually be voicing a raccoon.

Although it all sounds overly humorous right now — because I still can’t get over the fact that Diesel is going to be a tree — keep in mind that Marvel’s movies like Thor, Iron Man, Captain America and The Avengers have been major box office hits. The Avengers currently tops the box office for superhero movies at $623,357,910 while Iron Man 3 brought in $409,013,994 and stands at fourth place, according to Box Office Mojo. Also, to highlight the fantasy aspect of the movie industry in general, Peter Jackson was able to make giant trees look cool in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. So who knows? We could be in for a real treat.

Image: pics5