Benicio Del Toro is the latest actor, and one of the biggest names so far, to be handed a role on the upcoming Marvel movie adaption Guardians of the Galaxy. The Oscar-winner's participation in the film was announced on Monday via Deadline.

The James Gunn-directed film is the latest Marvel franchise to make the move to the big screen, and already boasts a cast that includes Parks and Recreation star Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker and John C. Reilly. It was announced last week, also by Deadline, that Glenn Close has also been chosen to appear in the film as a senior official in the Nova Corp, whilst Doctor Who's Karen Gillan will be portraying one of the film's villains. Del Toro's role is unspecified, although the actor has apparently been given a multi-film contract and is therefore expected to have a significant role in the film.

Marvel's insistance of mixing new and seasoned actors in their films is a tried and tested method, and one that has worked much to the advantage of films like Thor and The Avengers. It goes to show how seriously Disney and Marvel are taking the film, which is a wholly positive thing given how much it differs from previous films released by the studio being that GotG consists of characters largely unknown by the vast majority of audiences.

Marvel and Disney are still riding high on the wave of money generated by Iron Man 3, and are still some time away from releasing Guardians of the Galaxy, with a number of releases from the Marvel Universe set to be released before GotG hits cinemas in 2014. Thor: The Dark World will be released this summer, with Captain America: The Winter Soldier following it in 2014. There's also The Wolverine, The Amazing Spiderman 2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past coming out between now and the time GotG is released, although these are not Disney-affiliated films.

Benicio Del Toro Cannes
Benicio could be taking on the roles of either Thanos or Richard Rider, with the later the more likely

Benicio Del Toro Nice Airport
His role is still unconfirmed