Following the announcement that Chris Pratt would take the starring role in Marvel's upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie as half-human half-alien Star Lord, fans have been waiting to see who else would help him in, well, guarding the galaxy. Now, Dave Bautista, former WWE wrestler and current MMA fighter, has signed on to portray the green-skinned warrior Drax the Destroyer.Created by Mike Friedrich and Jim Starlin in 1973, Drax the Destroyer was a human whose family was killed by Thanos, and was bestowed with muscular green body to get revenge. Like Star Lord, and really, most of the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Drax the Destroyer came to more recent prominence in the Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning-written series of titles with art by Paul Pelletier, Brad Walker, and Wes Craig that included Guardians of the Galaxy and Annihilation: Conquest.

Their revitalization of GotG is a strong part of why fans are getting a major motion picture starring a talking raccoon and monosyllabic alien tree. With Thanos rumored to have a big role in the Avengers sequel, it looks like the Guardians of the Galaxy movie will be used to prepare audiences for some of the cosmic settings and characters they'll be encountering in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's second (and third?) phase.

More casting announcements will surely follow over the coming months as it gets closer to GotG's planned August 14, 2014 release date, which means there's plenty of time for fans to get excited about additional team members.

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