The Guardians Of The Galaxy cast is coming together, slowly but surely. Chris Pratt is to take the lead role of Star-Lord - a man with a human mother and alien father, Deadline report. 

It's a big opportunity for Pratt, and he'll have to work hard to keep the legions of fans happy. But it's not as though he was the only option pursued by Marvel, who apparently made test deals with Joel Edgerton (Zero Dark Thirty) Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas) Lee Pace (Lincoln and The Hobbit) and Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables). They also talked to  Zachary Levi. who was identified as a candidate while Joseph Gordon-Levitt was mooted, but he has other plans. Chris Pratt plays Andy Dwyer on the NBC series Parks And Recreation, and was seen on the big sreen recently in Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty.

Guardians Of The Galaxy first appeared in Marvel Comics back in in 1969 but wasn't awarded its own series until the 1990s. The story sees Star-Lord - to be brought to life by Pratt, and who's real name is Peter Quill - lead a group of alien superheros who team up to protect the solar system from an evil alien race. It's very much cut from the same cloth as the Avengers. In the comics, the Guardians worked with The Avengers, so you can expect to see some more familiar names used to boost this franchise for sure. An August 1, 2014 release date for Guardians of The Galaxy is planned.