Vin Diesel has been hinting at his role in Guardians of The Galaxy for ages now, so Marvel confirming that Groot will be played by the deep-voiced Hollywood star doesn’t really come as a surprise. But it’s nice to know what’s going on.

Vin Diesel

"Vin Diesel is a super awesome dude. I can't tell you how much I like this guy," the movie's director James Gunn wrote on Twitter linking to an image of Vin hugging a model of Groot.

Director Gunn also took to Facebook to comment on the news. "Yep it is completely official. AND he's amazing," he wrote on his page. "I never knew someone could say I AM GROOT so many different ways and with such feeling (and that sounds like I'm kidding but I'm not!)."

He’ll be joining Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax and Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, who recently revealed that he signed a deal to play the lead before he was even allowed to see the movie's screenplay.

"I was signed up to do the movie before I was even allowed to read a script, so it wasn't like something about this particular character that got me to do it. The fact that it was a Marvel movie is what got me to do it," he explained.

It’s been a busy week for Diesel; the Fast and Furious actor confirmed the release date for the latest instalment of the franchise – the seventh – which was delayed due to the tragic death of Paul Walker in a car crash over the Thanksgiving period.

Diesel wrote on Facebook that the film would be released on April 10, 2015. He uploaded a picture from his last scene with Paul Walker. “There was a unique sense of completion, of pride we shared in the film we were now completing,” he wrote.

Zoe SaldanaFilming for Guardians of The Galaxy has already kicked off