Benicio Del Toro Joins Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy': Is He Playing Thanos?

It seems like a day doesn't go by without Marvel adding another actor or actress to the expansive Guardians of the Galaxy cast. On Monday, Deadline reported that the studio had locked Benicio Del Toro in for not only a role in Guardians of the Galaxy but also for options that will have him appearing in many movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

They are keeping his role under wraps, but he’s playing a character that is built to be part of future Marvel films, which means he has signed a deal with options that put him into multiple movies.

While Marvel has added a few obscure characters to Guardians of the Galaxy, there really isn't a character left for Del Toro left to play. With the exception of Rocket Raccoon and Groot the talking tree, the members of the Guardians have been cast. If Del Toro was going to voice a CGI character, there's really not a reason to be secretive about it. We know that Lee Pace, Michael Rooker and Karen Gillan are playing villains. Glenn Close is the head of the Nova Corps. Is there a role left that's big enough for Marvel to play coy about its casting?

Yup. Thanos.

While we've gotten some mixed reports on Joss Whedon's plans for The Avengers 2, all signs appear to point to the Mad Titan being the big bad in that sequel. While Pace, Rooker and Gillan are running around as minor villains, odds are that Thanos is going to be behind the scenes, pulling the strings. Del Toro was almost the villain in Star Trek Into Darkness, so he's no stranger to the idea of being the bad guy in a summer tentpole movie.

Guardians of the Galaxy hits theaters on Aug. 1, 2014, and with this cast, it's quickly shaping up to be the most interesting project Marvel has yet attempted.