When we first heard that John C. Reilly had been offered a role in Marvel’s upcoming space odyssey, Guardians of the Galaxy, the story was that he was probably going to be playing a character named Rhomann Dey, who is a member of an intergalactic police force called the Nova Corps in the comics, but who would apparently be a SHIELD member who acted as a liaison to the stars in this story. This was confusing and made no sense. Why take an alien character with an alien name and arbitrarily turn him into some other human character for no reason? Why not just name this character something else? Well, it turns out the reason everything was so confusing was that it was all a bunch of bullpucky. All except the most important part—that John C. Reilly actually was offered a role in Guardians of the Galaxy. Luckily for us, a new report from Deadline not only clears up the confusion around the role that Reilly was offered, it also confirms that the actor is now officially on board.

What is Casting Couch? It’s the casting news roundup you’re going to want to be following if you want news about which cult movie icon has just been cast in Guardians of the Galaxy. If your eyeballs and brain have been anywhere near an episode of Mr. Show or Breaking Bad, then chances are you’re a pretty big fan of the comic stylings of the respected though curmudgeonly Bob Odenkirk. Well, good news for you, because Odenkirk just wrote a movie called Girlfriend’s Day that he’s also going to star in. According to a release from Magic Stone Productions and Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment, Best Worst Movie and The American Scream helmer Michael Paul Stephenson will direct the film, which sees Odenkirk playing a famous author in a world where greeting card writers are celebrated as heroes. The film will apparently see Odenkirk’s character and his rivals engaging each other in a campaign of murder and deceit, all in the name of creating the definitive greeting card for the hot new holiday, Girlfriend’s Day. Sounds pretty weird, but in that good way.

What is Casting Couch? A list of the weekend’s casting news, headed up by various Guardians of the Galaxy castings, but also including news on what’s up with Judd Nelson. The cast of Marvel’s space adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy, is getting so extensive, and so many actors appearing in it have been described as having a “lead role,” that it’s starting to get pretty confusing as to how all this stuff is going to fit into one movie. We’ve got intergalactic superheroes, intergalactic police, bounty hunters, liaisons to government agencies on Earth, and who knows how many other players introduced at this point. Nonetheless, Heat Vision has a report that the film has now cast its “lead female villain,” and the lady they’ve got to play the role is Doctor Who’s beloved companion, Karen Gillan. As if this balls crazy movie didn’t have enough geek cred already.

While most studios who make big blockbusters seem to pick from the same of-the-moment list of actors when casting their tentpole releases, Marvel Studios has set themselves apart by thinking outside the box a bit. They cast an actor many thought was a has-been as Iron Man, one who was mostly known for wisecracking as the stoic Captain America, and one who nobody had ever really heard of as Thor—and so far all the gambles have paid off. Perhaps not coincidentally, their next big property, Guardians of the Galaxy, seems to be the epitome of outside the box thinking. The film is adapting one of Marvel’s more obscure hero titles, it’s going to be populated largely by strange alien creatures, it’s set a sitcom actor up as its star in Chris Pratt, and it’s looking to give feature roles to awesome but lumpy-looking character actors like John C. Reilly and Michael Rooker. The movie is basically someone who roots for underdogs’ wildest dream. And now it’s being reported that director James Gunn is making one of his most interesting left field moves yet, as he’s taking Glenn Close, an actress most associated with high-minded, dramatic roles, and he’s putting her in a superhero movie.

What is Casting Couch? It’s not a fishing program on public access. It’s a place on the Internet to go to hear about actors landing roles. Today we have the latest on The Rock’s upcoming schedule, as well as a new member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. If you weren’t already on board to see a movie where Bill Murray plays a creepy old man who teaches all of his wrong-headed ways to his 12-year-old neighbor, then there’s probably something wrong with you, but St. Vincent De Van Nuys hasn’t given up on you yet. It’s latest strategy to lure you in, which comes after casting Melissa McCarthy and Chris O’Dowd as Murray’s co-stars, is to sign up Naomi Watts in the role of a Russian prostitute who Murray’s character likes to keep company with. That sounds both ridiculous and sexy, which are basically the two best ways anything can be. [Deadline]

A big team of superheroes, banding together to fight a larger evil force. There will obviously be more to Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, but the studio has got a winning formula that looks to be dipped in LSD and given the James Gunn treatment here. Fortunately, the director recently spoke with HeyUGuys where he cleared up some rumors and explained a few reasons why his forthcoming superhero adventure will be different from The Avengers (and from Star Wars as well). “In terms of a lot of stuff we’re very much like The Avengers, where it’s a very big, huge movie. It’s different because it’s cosmic, it’s in outer space, it’s very colourful. We have a whole history of science fiction behind us that we’re dealing with, and borrowing from, and also fighting with to create something unique. But at the same time there’s a lot of stuff it has in common with The Avengers.” So, a giant version of The Avengers set in outer space? Sounds great. Where do we buy tickets?

As we all know, Michael Rooker is fantastic. The man who got his filmic start as a murderer in Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer has gone on to redefine intensity in a ton of roles and has most recently anchored The Walking Dead with a bizarre brand of lovable racism. According to Deadline, he’s now re-teaming with director James Gunn for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Slither reunion! Get excited. He’ll be playing the alien Yondu Udonta who rocks blue skin, a bitchin’ red mohawk and both of his original hands (until he, no kidding, gets his right one replaced by a device that converted into several different weapons). So this past season of The Walking Dead may have been one big audition tape. The character is also one with nature and kills with a bow that features arrows that can change direction at the archer’s command. Yet again, Marvel shows its superiority in casting.

What is Casting Couch? It’s the easiest way to stay abreast of who’s going to be doing what in the world of acting. Today we have casting news regarding the Veronica Mars movie as well as a look at what Chloe Moretz might be working on next. Given her experience playing a big, blue badass in James Cameron’s Avatar, Zoe Saldana is no stranger to embodying characters who aren’t exactly human—so that’s probably why James Gunn is looking at her to take the female lead of his upcoming Marvel Studios ensemble, Guardians of the Galaxy. Heat Vision is reporting that Saldana is currently in talks to join the film as Gamora, the Guardians’ resident green-skinned, sword-wielding assassin. If Saldana signs on, that would be all of the more human members of the Guardians taken care of, which would leave Gunn with only a walking tree and a talking raccoon to cast. Wish him luck when it comes to figuring that out.

If you haven’t had your coffee yet, now’s a good time to take it ocularly. For the most part, this Phase Two featurette from Marvel (via Superhero Hype) is a keen look into the world of Iron Man 3 with an eye to how they’re deepening the well while returning to it in order to make Tony Stark a richer character post-Avengers. The cast and crew, alongside Marvel head Kevin Feige, weigh in on how this trilogy entry is also a piece of a much larger puzzle. Then, they show some of the other pieces. The briefest of footage from Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Thor: The Dark World is joined by test footage from Edgar Wright’s Ant-Man, concept footage from Guardians of the Galaxy and a few comments from the filmmakers. At any rate, let’s stop pretending that you’re reading this and get to the video:

What is Casting Couch? A bunch of casting news, all in one place. Today we’ve got more news about that YA adaptation, Divergent, as well as a possibility for what the king of YA adaptations, Robert Pattinson, may be doing next. And there’s other stuff too. You don’t have to be a young adult to keep reading. There’s been a lot of casting talk regarding Guardians of the Galaxy lately, but strangely enough, it’s all been about the same character—Drax the Destroyer. First Jason Momoa was said to have been offered the role, then there was said to be quibbles over money, then someone got wind that Dave Bautista was being looked at as a backup, and now THR is reporting that Bautista has officially signed. All of the hullabaloo kind of makes you wonder if they’ve even started to think about casting any of the other roles. But, anyway, Bautista is a huge ex-pro wrestler, he’s something of a charmer, and while he’s not as cool as Jason Momoa, surely he’ll make a fine Destroyer of Thanos.

The doors are wide open for nerds to fund their own wish projects, Guardians of the Galaxy comes to the mainstream, Netflix goes 4k, David Copperfield’s secret warehouse is exposed and finally, the great SXSW vs. Sundance debate is settled in tonight’s clean-up round.

Given the relative obscurity of the characters that regularly get featured in Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” title, it’s always been something of a curiosity as to why they’re the next priority when it comes to the movies Marvel Studios is making. Couldn’t they be spending their time and resources introducing characters that have a little bit more mainstream recognition into their film world? The logical answer to this question has been that, seeing as The Avengers are likely to be going up against the intergalactic conqueror Thanos in The Avengers 2, Guardians of the Galaxy will be the vehicle through which Marvel’s extended cosmic universe gets introduced. Just imagine if The Avengers 2 had to do all of the heavy lifting when it comes to who Thanos is, why he’s such a threat, and what exactly he’s been getting up to across the entire universe for all these years. The movie would be completely bogged down with exposition and unable to enjoy all of the brevity in storytelling that being a Part 2 usually affords a film. But introduce a number of alien worlds in this Guardians of the Galaxy movie, have Thanos lurking in the background as an unspeakable threat, and suddenly a lot of the narrative load is taken off of The Avengers 2’s shoulder. Plus, you might create a bankable new film franchise to boot.

Drax the Destroyer is a member of Marvel’s intergalactic team of superheroes The Guardians of the Galaxy, and like the Incredible Hulk before him, he’s basically a big green guy who likes to wreck things. Given the character’s stature, where is Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn going to find an actor big enough to pull the part off? According to Latino Review, he must have looked toward HBO’s Game of Thrones, because they’re reporting that Marvel has just offered the role to actor Jason Momoa (meanwhile, THR says he’s only tested). Momoa was one of the actors who tested for the character alongside names like Isiah Mustafa, Dave Bautista, and Brian Patrick, and apparently the imposing presence and physical charisma that he’s shown in things like his role as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones and his turn as Conan the Barbarian in the recent relaunch of that franchise was enough to get him an offer. It should be noted that Momoa’s people were said to have countered the offer, so the negotiations are still in progress rather than the signing being official, but given the fact that Momoa’s initial attempt at starring in a big franchise film, Conan, underperformed at the box office, one can’t imagine that he’s going to be making any unreasonable demands in the face of being offered another role in a big tentpole flick.

Briefly: Deadline Hollywood has just revealed – rumored short lists be damned! – that Chris Pratt (Zero Dark Thirty, Moneyball, Parks and Recreation, and lest we ever forget, Everwood) has landed one of the key starring roles in James Gunn‘s Guardians of the Galaxy as Star-Lord, a.k.a. Peter Quill and and the de facto leader of said Guardians. A number of other actors had been rumored as possibles for the role – including Joel Edgerton, Jack Huston, Jim Sturgess, Eddie Redmayne, Lee Pace, Zachary Levi, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, with this being the first we’ve heard of Pratt as as possible for the role. In short, what an awesome surprise.

The deluge of rumors concerning James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy continues unabated. This time around the source is Comic Book Movie, who says they have a shadowy operative close to the production and his or her latest round of snooping has led them to believe that not only is The Office’s John Krasinski the latest in a parade of actors to read for the role of Peter Quell, but that there’s also a shortlist of actors being considered for the role of the Guardians’ resident green guy, Drax the Destroyer. Rumor has it that Generation Kill actor Brian Patrick Wade; that guy from the Old Spice commercials, Isaiah Mustafa; and former professional wrestler Dave Bautista are all being looked at. Presumably they’re in some Hollywood back lot right now, letting Gunn take test footage of them destroying things.

As if the casting situation regarding the lead role for James Gunn’s upcoming Marvel movie, Guardians of the Galaxy, needed to get even more heated, today brings news that yet another candidate has been reading for the lead role of Peter Quill: AKA the half-human, half-alien intergalactic cop called Star-Lord. Michael Rosenbaum, who’s no stranger to the comic book world given his many years playing Lex Luthor on TV’s Smallville, recently took to his Twitter account to inform his followers that, “Read for my pal @JamesGunn GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY for PETER QUILL. What a treat! Thanks Jimmy. @Marvel.” If you can’t read Twitterspeak, that means Rosenbaum now joins Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zachary Levi, and Jim Sturgess in the stable of actors we’ve heard are up for the role.

Now that Marvel Studios has been wildly successful at turning some of their most popular comic book properties into hugely profitable feature film series, the publisher turned movie house is taking the next step in their development by trying to prop up one of their more off-the-beaten-path properties as the next big thing. Said property is a ragtag team of intergalactic superheroes known as the Guardians of the Galaxy. The team, which includes characters like Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, Rocket Raccoon, Groot, and Gamora, is going to be brought to the big screen by director James Gunn (Super) in a big budget feature that’s scheduled for an August 1, 2014 release.

What is Casting Couch? It’s the casting news roundup that’s been out of work since casting agents seem to be treating the week between Christmas and New Years as one prolonged food coma. If there’s one thing that Jurassic Park taught us, it’s that nature finds a way. Well, casting finds a way too. In a week where there isn’t any news getting leaked to the trades, leave it to Albuquerque Business First to break a new scoop. The eagle eyes over at The Film Stage noticed that, in an article about how that Michael Fassbender-starring rock and roll comedy called Frank is coming to town to shoot, the local source managed to break the news that Maggie Gyllenhaal is coming to town with it. Her involvement in the film sees her joining a cast that includes not just Fassbender, but two of the young MVPs of 2012, Domhnall Gleeson and Scoot McNairy, as well. Which, you know, makes her one of the luckiest ladies in the world.

What is Casting Couch? It’s the movie news column that’s easing into Christmas with a cup of coffee and some casting reports. Let’s take this one step at a time. Marvel Studios is on such a roll now that any movie they make that ties directly into their upcoming Avengers 2 is going to be a big deal—even if it’s based off of a comic book that nobody’s ever heard of like Guardians of the Galaxy. So, the competition among young actors to get cast as the Guardians’ leader, Star-Lord, is pretty fierce. According to Variety, that competition has been narrowed down to two guys. The trade reports that Jim Sturgess is the sole survivor of the original crop of five actors the studio screen tested for the role, and Zachary Levi impressed so much playing the smaller role of Fandral in Thor 2, that Marvel is looking to give him a larger role in their universe by maybe making him the half-human, half-alien leader of this ragtag crew. Who would you find more believable commanding a gun-toting space-raccoon?

What is Movie News After Dark? According to everything that has happened in tonight’s entry already, it appears to be quite inquisitive. All of your questions and more will be answered. Tonight’s lead story is also tonight’s leading non-story about leading men. Who will be the leader of Guardians of the Galaxy, the next big Marvel Studios project that supposedly has James Gunn in the directors chair. Deadline offers up a list of guys who you’ve seen on the big screen recently, courtesy of Tammy’s brother Joey’s cousin Suzie who knows a guy, but not that well. So there’s that.