It had long ago been rumored and seemingly confirmed by Vin Diesel himself but Marvel has now made it 100% official naming Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot.
Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn had the following to say:
“Vin Diesel is a super awesome dude, I can’t tell you how much I like this guy,” said Gunn via Facebook. “I hope this [photo] puts to rest all the silly Thanos-Vin stuff which people just seemed to make up out of nothing.” He adds that Diesel was never announced initially: “He said he wanted to do it and we said we were talking to him. Everything else was people guessing and thinking they knew what was going to happen”
He also clarified that the above visage of Groot is not quite the final look for the film… “This was the bust we used for reference when shooting. It has changed slightly from this since we started animating him.”
And added the following, “Yep it is completely official. AND he’s amazing. I never knew someone could say I AM GROOT so many different ways and with such feeling (and that sounds like I’m kidding but I’m not!)”
Official Press Release:
Vin Diesel is Groot!
The star of the Fast and the Furious and Riddick franchises will lend his voice to Groot in Marvel’s live-action “Guardians of the Galaxy,” rounding out the team that includes Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Drax (Dave Bautista).
Featured in four of the six movies in the fan-favorite “Fast & Furious” franchise, Diesel has helped the series gross over $2 billion at the box office; and will reprise his role in “Fast & Furious 7.” Diesel’s most recent film, “Riddick,” the third film in the franchise that has so far earned a cumulative $267.3 million across the globe, debuted this year at the top of the box office. In addition to lending his voice to several video games, Diesel’s received great acclaim for his voice work in the celebrated animated film “The Iron Giant,” directed by Brad Bird.
In the far reaches of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, an unlikely cast of characters including Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket Raccoon must join forces to defeat a cosmic force of epic proportions. Directed by James Gunn, the live-action “Guardians of the Galaxy” will take fans to new corners of the Marvel Universe when it hits theaters August 1, 2014, but in the meantime stay tuned to Marvel.com for the latest news as it breaks, including official casting, first looks and more!
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