Marvel Confirms That Bradley Cooper Will Voice Rocket Raccoon in 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

While Warner Bros. is rebooting Batman (again), Marvel is busy launching new franchises. Not just any franchises either. The studio has avoided the easier properties like Ant-Man or Black Panther, instead choosing to bring Guardians of the Galaxy to the big screen in 2014. The team of galactic misfits includes a half human, two green-skinned warriors, a tree alien that only says "I am Groot" and a talking raccoon.

The talking raccoon part is where Bradley Cooper comes in. Last week, a rumor began circulating that the Silver Linings Playbook Oscar nominee would voice Rocket Raccoon, the ammunitions expert on the Guardians team. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cooper was in talks, but nothing was locked in. In fact, that story even said that Elizabeth Olsen was closer to a deal to play the Scarlet Witch in The Avengers: Age of Ultron than Cooper was to a deal of his own. Talks must have progressed rapidly, since Marvel confirmed on Friday that Cooper would voice Rocket Raccoon.

This is actually Marvel's second big casting announcement of the week, with the Cooper scoop coming just a day after the studio revealed that James Spader would be playing Ultron in The Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Guardians of the Galaxy hits theaters on Aug. 1, 2014.