While fans of Kevin Smith's Mallrats likely remember Michael Rooker as the hardass father who plagues poor Jason Lee and Jeremy London, he's really experienced a career resurgence of late thanks to playing Merle Dixon in AMC's The Walking Dead. He's always been a busy guy even when not battling zombies every Sunday night, and one of his most prominent film roles came in a little horror comedy known as Slither, which was helmed by James Gunn.
Rooker will reteam with Gunn now on Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, joining the random cast of Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and Dave Bautista. He'll take on the role of Yondu, one of the founding members of the original team, which was formed in the 31st century in an alternate timeline. He's the first character in the film to not have a real connection to Thanos, the major villain in Marvel's second phase. Yondu has no superhuman powers, but has superior hunting skills and is a natural mystic. His primary weapon is a bow and arrow forged with metal from his homeworld, Centauri IV.
If the Guardians of the Galaxy is Marvel's most obscure team, Yondu is unknown even by those standards. His presence strongly suggests a plot dealing with alternate realities, and may include more members of the original team. I'll flip out if they add Vance Astro. Look for the film to hit theaters on August 1st 2014.
