Let the casting speculation for Marvel's <em>Guardians of the Galaxy</em> begin with Michael Rooker

Ever since Marvel announced that one of its next film ventures was The Guardians of the Galaxy, not much discussion has taken place about who might join the cast. But now, Michael Rooker (who is returning to The Walking Dead next season) is throwing his hat in the ring — to play Rocket Raccoon! A friend of Guardians director James Gunn, Rooker might just be interested in providing his perfect, grisly voice for the (most likely) CG-animated character. Why? He told MovieWeb:

I love raccoons. Raccoons are my friends!

But really:

I would be very honored and pleased to work with James Gunn again… Whether it will happen or not, I don’t know… Write this up. Tweet the fuck out of it. If the fans want me as Rocket Raccoon, Marvel will listen to you guys, I think, sometimes… Perhaps I will be lucky and blessed enough to go in there, and go at it with Mr. Gunn again, who knows?

Okay! So, he’s more eager to work with Gunn than he is to be Rocket Raccoon (he says he hasn’t “done much research on it at all yet”). But he’s totally committed to taking the Betty White-social media route, and that makes him one thing for sure: an efficient campaigner.

Photo credit: AMC

Which Legendary Character Actor Has the Crazy Eyes and Wants To Be This Pint-Sized Bad@ss, Rocket Raccoon? [Pajiba]