‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Villains Revealed: Sorry, No Thanos

With nothing confirmed, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' fans were left to speculate as to what characters Benicio Del Toro, Lee Pace and Karen Gillan would be playing in the upcoming Marvel movie. There have been many rumors from Angela to Thanos but today we have the details on what Terrible Trio these three will be playing in 'Guardians of the Galaxy' next summer.

When Del Toro was first introduced as part of the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' cast it was noted that his character was "built to be part of future Marvel films," leaving many to speculate he'd be playing Thanos, the presumed villain at the center of 'The Avengers 2.' But now it seems that Del Toro will instead be playing The Collector, one of the oldest beings in the universe. The Collector foresaw the threat of Thanos and began, um, collecting items for safe keeping, including some of the Infinity Gems (but we think you know how that ends up).

Gillan, who had been rumored to be playing Angela, a Neil Gaiman created character now part of the comic timeline, will instead star as Nebula, the space pirate. Once claiming to be the granddaughter of Thanos (are you sensing a trend with these villains?), scheming to gain absolute power. (Insulted by her lies about their kinship, Thanos would later transform her into a zombie-like creature.)

Finally, Lee Pace, described as the main villain in the movie besides Michael Rooker's Yondu, will play Ronan the Accuser. Ronan is the Supreme Accuser of the Accuser Corps of the Kree race and, as you might have guessed, in the Ultimates timeline, Ronan is the son of Thanos.

So three villains, three ties to Thanos, long-thought to be the big bad dude behind Phase 2 of Marvel's Cinematic Universe. Expect much more from Marvel and 'Guardians of the Galaxy' at Comic-Con 2013!