Fan-Cast: If The Guardians of the Galaxy Film Series Was Made in the 90’s

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Is it just me or would Star-Lord and co. blend in really well if released just before the millennium? We at ScreenHeads have been wracking our brains on a fan-cast to take back in time and give a cast from the past, and our favourite superheroes/music fanatics are what we have landed on!

Yes, this is our next instalment of our Disney-inspired fan-cast collection (Marvel are owned by them remember) and so sit tight – we’re taking you back to the 90s for our version of the decade’s Guardians of the Galaxy film characters.

To refresh your memory on the characters, take a look at the first film’s trailer below:

Related Article: Live-Action The Sword in The Stone Fan-Cast

Brendan Fraser as Peter Quill/Star-Lord

Fraser is pretty much the 90’s version of Chris Pratt. He’s got the physique, the tough man exterior and the comedy chops to pull it off easily. Just look at his work in The Mummy film series and his performance in George of the Jungle. Cross them together, plus his immense fame from the middle of the 90’s onwards, and you can see a pretty authentic take on Pratt’s version of Star-Lord.

Uma Thurman as Gamora

Thurman’s popularity sky-rocketed off the back of 1994’s Pulp Fiction. With offers being thrown left, right and centre, Gamora would have been throw Thurman’s way 100%. She’d be the perfect fit as well to be fair. We’ve seen her take on feisty characters that can handle themselves in a fight. She’d look great in the costume and make-up.

F*ck it – get her into a future film as Gamora’s mother. I’m calling it. You’ve seen it here first. Please read this James Gunn. Make a fourth film just for this.

Arnold Swarzaneggar as Drax the Destroyer

You can’t say he wouldn’t be the logical choice. With how big Arnie was during this decade (in fame and muscle), if Drax was for the taking this would be the guy who gets the role. Much like Fraser, he can do comedy pretty well, and would pull Drax’s dry sense of humour off.

Also, he’s proven he’ll shave his head and go blue for a 90’s superhero film before; if only this was the reality we got instead of…yanno.

Bruce Willis as The Voice of Rocket Raccoon

His voice would be a bit different from Bradley Coopers, but it would be pretty cool hearing Willis as Rocket. Again – Willis was a top choice for a lot of projects in this decade. The Die Hard film series was at it’s peak. Big blockbuster films were wanting him involved. He even nabbed a guest role on Friends…where Die Hard is the favourite film of Ross, Joey and Chandler. Talk about doing whatever it takes.

For an angry, sometimes funny, wise-cracking, cybernetically engineered raccoon…yeah, somehow Willis just fits it perfectly.

Sylvester Stallone as The Voice of Groot

Okay, yeah – you’re just going to hear “I am Groot” constantly and KNOW it’s Sly on the other end of the recording booth, but come on. Who else would do that voice so well?

Stallone has got that depth in his voice. I don’t want to sound like a broken record but HE’S SYLVESTER STALLONE! IN THE 90’S! If you’re looking for this kind of voice, he would be the first person you call. Also kind of ironic that he’s our choice for Groot seeings as he already has a role in the current film series as a Ravager Stakar. Kind of like a reverse John Wesley Shipp with The Flash.

Cameron Diaz as Nebula

Diaz was a hot pick in the 90’s thanks to her breakthrough performance in 1994’s The Mask with Jim Carrey. She was young, energetic and villainous role like Gamora’s cyborg sister would have proven her ability to take on more than the ditzy, attractive blonde roles that she became custom to around this time. Plus, her short hair for There’s Something About Mary would have been easy to put under a bald cap.

Robert de Niro as Yondu

A lot of people may not be feeling this choice, but bear with me here! De Niro was known for his tough, “taking no shit” characters throughout his career, but he was starting to take a chance on new genres (his child-friendly villain in The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle/his comedy take on Meet The Parents). Take his usual genre and throw in his willingness to try new ones, and you’ve got your 90’s Yondu.

The Raging Bull star would give us a great performance for Peter Quill’s captive/space dad. Also, you can’t say you wouldn’t want to see him whistling that red dart around and shouting “I’M MARY POPPINS Y’ALL!”.

Jennifer Love-Hewitt as Mantis

Much like Pom Klementieff, you would still want someone upcoming in their fame. Love-Hewitt was steadily becoming a household name and the young actress would have given a fun, maybe surprising turn as the empath of the team.

However, could she look as cute as Klementieff? OF COURSE NOT! No one could be.

Tim Roth as Ronan the Accuser

Roth would be incredible as the Tree fanatic that is Ronan. Much like Thurman, Roth’s work with Quentin Tarantino gave his career a kick in the right direction; films like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction gave him a lot of credibility. Get him in for an audition and he would have easily won the role in our opinion.

Roth, much like Lee Pace, really disappears into his roles. watch him in 2001’s Planet of the Apes or drama series Rillington Place. It may seem as an exaggeration, but watching Roth as Ronan would almost be a masterclass for any young actor.

Gene Hackman as Ego

Probably one of my favourite choices for any fan-cast. Imagine Kurt Russell’s Ego, and then just replace it with Gene Hackman. There’s pretty much no change at all except you’re getting one of the best actors to walk the planet TO PLAY A PLANET (no offence Russell).

It would also allow Hackman to have another stab at the superhero game. I’m of course referring to his camp/comedy-centric version of Lex Luthor in 1978’s Superman with Christopher Reeve. Maybe Hackman could have a chance to play a villain a bit more seriously this time?

Robin Wright as Meredith Quill

A natural beauty is what you need for Peter Quill’s ill-fated mother, and Wright fits the bill. It would probably make a lot more sense to cast someone who would be a lot less expensive for such a small yet pivotal role, but you try and find people who would fit the role over 20 years ago and at the same time be seen as relatively unknown and inexpensive. Yeah, I thought so!

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Agree with what we think? Disagree? Let us know! Go to our comment section below and tell us your thoughts!

As you may already know, we’re always open to suggestions for our future fan-casts! Have a tv show or movie in mind that you’d like us to fan-cast in some way? Contact our team today and we’ll get to work and give you the credit!

Both volumes of Guardians of the Galaxy are available with the rest of the Marvel collection on Disney + and are also available on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download.