It's official! Bradley Cooper is the voice of Rocket Raccoon in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY!

What a month of August the folks at the Marvel Studios casting department had. First there was the news that Vin Diesel would be playing to his strengths and voicing a huge monosyllabic piece of wood in Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, and then Friday’s bomb (much to my dismay) that James Spader will be playing the titular villain in The Avengers: Age  of Ultron.

But apparently Marvel wasn’t done with all the announcements, as late on Friday they confirmed that Bradley Cooper would be the voice of Guardians’ machine gun wielding, cigar smoking Rocket Raccoon.

Rocket Raccoon has finally found his voice! Academy Award-nominated actor Bradley Cooper has officially joined the cast of Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” lending his voice to the fan-favorite raccoon that will join Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Drax (Dave Bautista) on their epic adventure.

This announcement actually confirms the rumour that was originally posited by Latino Review just under two weeks ago. I must admit though that Cooper wouldn’t have been my first choice, but that’s based purely on the fact that in all of Rocket’s appearances he’s always had a rasping, gravelly voice with a bit of a cockney accent, whereas Cooper is about as smoothly American as they come. Check out this clip showing off Rocket Raccoon in the videogame Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 to see, or actually hear what I mean.

With that in mind though, you still have to remember though that Cooper is avery solid actor, who should easily be able to pull this off (though I have a feeling that Darryn may still be upset that Marvel just didn’t go with his choice of Jason Statham). Rocket Raccoon, who Marvel Head Kevin Feige recently described as “an experiment from one part of the galaxy” that’s been “genetically and mechanically altered”, is a firecracker of a character who’s just a tad – how do you say? – psychotic, so it should be rather fun to see what Cooper can come up with for him.

With his addition, the already spectacular cast of Guardians of the Galaxy just gets even better, and if you’re still not excited about this movie then I would suggest that you stay clear of dreadlocked black women carrying samurai swords, as you sir/madam, are a zombie.

Here’s the full press release from Marvel for the casting announcement:

Rocket Raccoon has finally found his voice!

Academy Award-nominated actor Bradley Cooper has officially joined the cast of Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” lending his voice to the fan-favorite raccoon that will join Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Drax (Dave Bautista) on their epic adventure.

Cooper has previously starred in “Silver Linings Playbook,” for which he was nominated for an Oscar®, “Limitless,” “Place Beyond the Pines” and the “Hangover” trilogy, the latter of which has grossed $1.4 billion globally. He will next be seen in “American Hustle” which will reunite him with “Silver Linings Playbook” director David O. Russell. “Guardians of the Galaxy” will mark Cooper’s first voiceover work.

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!

In addition to “Guardians of the Galaxy,” Marvel Studios will release a slate of films based on the Marvel characters including “Thor: The Dark World” on November 8; “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” on April 4, 2014; “Avengers: Age of Ultron” on May 1, 2015; and “Ant-Man” on November 6, 2015.

Guardians of the Galaxy is directed by James Gunn (Super, Slither), stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Lee Pace, Benicio Del Toro, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, and Michael Rooker and will released on August 1, 2014.

[Source: Marvel]

Last Updated: September 2, 2013