Joseph Gordon Levitt may star in Guardians of the Galaxy

The unstoppable “Boy Wonder” Joseph Gordon Levitt has apparently been thrown into the running for playing what is most likely to be the central role in James Gunn’s and Marvel’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy. JGL is now on the short-list of actors who have been offered a chance at the role of Peter Quill, aka Starlord, the leader of the Guardians who discovers the heritage of the alien father he didn’t know he had. His closest competitors appear to be Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas) and Zachary Levi (TV’s Chuck), though there are several other names that have been mentioned.

I’m not a huge comic book guy (ironic, yes?), so my knowledge of the Guardians characters is just about nil, but from what I’ve seen of the universe and the fact that James Gunn is directing the film, I’m assuming it’s going to be pretty wacky. Of course, JGL grew up doing wacky on Third Rock from the Sun, so I’ve no doubt he’s capable of the comedic subtleties of sharing a scene with a space raccoon. The question is, considering where he is in his career (the top of the world), is this the right move for him?

_{The awesome JGL pic from the header comes courtesy of Just Jared.}