Vin Diesel officially joins Guardians of the Galaxy

It has been rumored for months now, but we finally have confirmation that Vin Diesel will be playing Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy. He joins Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, Michael Rooker, and Lee Pace. Guardians of the Galaxy is being directed by James Gunn and is set for release on August 1, 2014.

If you aren't aware, Groot is a highly intelligent tree-like alien. Groot will be voiced by Diesel as he is assumed to be full CGI along with Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper). Originally, Groot was interested in capturing humans for experimentation, but after being destroyed by both termites and the Hulk he was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D. and made part of the Guardians team. Groot was also a warrior in the battle against Thanos, so he is an important aspect of this movie.

Vin Diesel in talks for Guardians of the Galaxy

Despite speculation that Vin Diesel was going to play Vision, Thanos, or Ultron, it seems that he is going to be part of Guardians of the Galaxy. Deadline is reporting that Diesel is in talks to voice Groot, an extraterrestrial plant monster.

News of this came with a rather interesting twist. Diesel apparently changed his Facebook picture to a photo of Groot, but it was quickly taken down and the photo was deleted. Now, this all could be a classic misguided trick by Marvel but I am not doubting it. It probably wasn't announced at D23 this weekend because Diesel hasn't secured any Marvel role yet. We will wait and see.

Guardians of the Galaxy opens on August 1, 2014.