Bradley Cooper in Talks to Voice Rocket Raccoon in Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy'
Marvel Studios is in talks with Bradley Cooper and Elizabeth Olsen to join the casts of two of its movies, sources confirm to The Hollywood Reporter.
Marvel is in early talks with Cooper for the actor to voice Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy, its sci-fi adventure movie. And the company is in negotiations with Olsen to play the Scarlet Witch in The Avengers: The Age of Ultron, the sequel to the billion-dollar-grossing 2012 movie, multiple sources tell Heat Vision.
Sources familiar with the deals say that Olsen's dealmaking is further along than Cooper's, which is just beginning. Bleeding Cool first reported Olsen's negotiations. Latino Review first reported Cooper's offer.
Marvel had no comment.
Marvel is already in production on Galaxy in London with a cast that includes Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Dave Bautista as space-spanning adventurers.
Also among the Guardians are Groot, a giant tree-man, and Rocket Raccoon, a genetically engineered procyonid with a knack for guns and explosives. Both characters will be CGI creations, and Raccoon has already proven himself to be a favorite among the fanboy crowd. (Vin Diesel is in talks to voice Groot.)
James Gunn is directing the movie, which has a Aug. 1, 2014, release date.
Indie darling Olsen, meanwhile, would be one of the few new additions to the Avengers sequel, playing one of Marvel's top female characters. The Scarlet Witch, who is usually adorned with a cape and pointy headgear, has the power to affect certain outcomes by altering probabilities. Her powers have also sometimes included the ability to reshape reality. (On the costume front, director Joss Whedon has already said in interviews that the red tights won't be segueing from page to screen.)
The character's backstory is interesting, as she and her brother, the mutant speedster known as Quicksilver, began publishing life as villains and are the offspring of iconic villain Magneto. The two eventually became integral part of the Avengers, with the Witch marrying an android created by Ultron known as The Vision.
Magneto is an X-Men villain and, due to rights deals, can only appear in Fox's X-Men movies. Quicksilver, however, will be appearing in both Avengers 2 as well as X-Men: Days of Future Past, currently in production in Montreal.
Cooper, repped by CAA, next stars in David O. Russell's American Hustle, which opens Christmas Day.
Olsen, repped by Gersh, has up until now been known for her indie work such as Martha Marcy May Marlene. She has slowly transitioned into tentpole fare and recently wrapped shooting on Legendary's upcoming Godzilla movie.