Matthew McConaughey Turns Down Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Villain Role

Matthew McConaughey turns down Guardians of the Galaxy 2 villain role

Amid yesterday’s Variety report on French actress Pom Klementieff joining the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 came word that Marvel Studios had also offered the lead villain role in the film to none other than Mister Alright Alright Alright himself, Matthew McConaughey… who wound up turning it down. 

While Oscar-winner McConaughey nixing the part is by no means a surprise (he is quite the big star, you know), it tells us several things about this “villain” role. For one, going after an actor of McConaughey’s caliber means it must be a very, very important character, with an eye to possibly playing an even bigger role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For another, going after the ethereal/spiritual thespian could also indicate that whatever character he would have played might be Peter Quill’s mysterious (as his dying mother said, “angelic”) father hinted at in the first Guardians of the Galaxy.

With writer/director James Gunn having already stated that Quill’s dad from the comics, J’son (also known as “Jason of Spartax”, Emperor of the Spartoi Empire) is not the pater familias of the Quill family, fans have glommed onto theories such as Nova or Starfox, but I think (based on pure speculation) the most likely culprit for the villain role/papa Quill is none other than Adam Warlock!

“But Warlock isn’t a villain!” you say. Well, that’s right, but in the comics when Warlock gained possession of the Soul Gem, he eventually dealt with a future version of himself known as Magus. Did I mention Magus is evil? That means if the Guardians team up with Warlock (who has close ties to Gamora) to fight Magus, and it is later revealed that Warlock is Quill’s father, it would not be quite the Star Wars-ian “Evil Guy is your dad” thing that Gunn is trying to avoid. As it is, Warlock’s cocoon (see picture on right) was seen briefly in The Collector’s vault during the post-credits scene in Thor: The Dark World, and we can only assume that during the explosion in Guardians that thing broke open. Confused yet?

So far over the course of twelve MCU films, they have revealed four of the Infinity Stones that Thanos has been coveting (Space, Reality, Mind, Power), and Marvel producer Jeremy Latcham has stated that Phase 3 will see the final two remaining stones (Soul & Time) brought to fruition. Since Warlock is so closely tied to the Soul Gem and plays such a critical – one might even say the MOST vital – role in the “Infinity Gauntlet” comics, then it stands to reason that Guardians 2 would be the ideal place to reveal him before Avengers: Infinity War. 

The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 cast will once again feature Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper as unlikely heroes who must team up in order to defeat a cosmic force of epic proportions.

James Gunn is back as director and writer for the sequel, which is expected to start shooting in early 2016 for a May 5, 2017 release date.

Guardians of the Galaxy opened in theaters on August 1, 2014 and earned an impressive $774 million at the worldwide box office.

What do you think the villain role is that McConaughey turned down? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

(Photo Credit: WENN)

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