Since John C. Reilly started becoming known as an actor we've seen him take on an incredibly wide variety of roles, from ridiculous comedies like Step Brothers and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, to praised drama like Chicago and Magnolia. Surprisingly, though, two genres that he has largely kept away from include both action movies and science-fiction. But if HitFix is to be believed, that could change soon in a major way.
According to the site's sources, the Academy Award-nominated star is has been given an offer to play a key role in not just James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, but in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The report says that Marvel now wants Reilly for the role of Rhomann Dey, a character they describe as the middle man between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the titular intergalactic space police. Or, as the site puts it, he could be "the Agent Coulson of the Guardians movies."
For those unfamiliar with the comics, Rhomann Dey was first introduced in the mid-70s as the alien leader of the Nova Corps, a space militia group. If the site is correct, however, the role will be turned into a human and serve as "the primary face of normal humanity." Should Reilly actually sign on he will join a core group that includes Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Dave Bautista as Drax The Destroyer, Zoe Salana as Gamora. HitFix also adds that they are still looking at names like Hugh Laurie, Alan Rickman, and Ken Watanabe for another role in Guardians as well, playing a "peer" of Reilly's.
Reilly was last featured in the terrific Disney animated film Wreck-It Ralph and is rumored for a cameo role in Anchorman 2: The Story Continues.
