Back in the early days of Guardians of the Galaxy casting, when everybody and their brother was rumored to be up for the role of Star-Lord, Lee Pace was one of the actors who definitely auditioned for the part. Though the role eventually went to Chris Pratt, director James Gunn must’ve really liked Pace (as he should), because now the actor is reportedly in “final negotiations” to play the villain.

To get exceedingly superficial for a moment: Tom Hiddleston, you might be getting some competition in the Most Attractive Marvel Villain department.

Michael Rooker is headed to space. The Walking Dead star has been cast in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. So, who will he be playing? Hit the jump to find out! 

Shortly after James Gunn issued his sincere apology for an ambiguously satirical post on his blog that was rediscovered by fans in the wake of his appointment as the director of Marvel Studio’s Guardians of the Galaxy, The Mary Sue received a letter in our inbox from a writer for another major entertainment blog. It contained what we thought were some very well put thoughts on the reaction against the reaction against Gunn’s post. We asked her if she would be comfortable publishing a form of the letter on the site, and she assented as long as she could make a few edits for the new format and she could obscure which specific site she worked for, which necessarily required the post to be published anonymously. Things were delayed a bit by the holidays and revisions, but without further ado, here’s her post.

There have been a ton of Guardians of the Galaxy casting rumors floating around as of late. By my count there’ve been seven actors reportedly in contention to play the lead role of Star-Lord (aka Peter Quill), the latest being Joseph Gordon-Levitt. And now you can add two more to the list: Michael Rosenbaum, best known for playing Lex Luthor in Smallville, and The Office‘s John Krasinski. And Drax the Destroyer has gotten in on the rumor mill as well, with three actors reportedly vying to play him.

We’ve had quite the year here at The Mary Sue. Looking back on it now, we can say without any snarkiness, it was a great one. Part of that has to do with all of you, the folks who visit our site daily to participate in (usually) engaging conversations. When we post an article, we hope it garners discussion, even if that discussion is about how much Peter Jackson must have spent on shampoo for The Hobbit or how hilarious tap dancing zombies are. Some posts never get any comments (and how sad they must be) but others take on a life of their own when a particular topic gets readers talking whether the topic was controversial or not. We like it when things remain civil and do our best to step in when they don’t, but it’s always interesting to see different perspectives. Here now are our Top 10 Most Talked About Stories of 2012 on The Mary Sue.

This TARDIS bookcase plays the Doctor Who theme song when you open the doors. I think I’m in love. Tumblr user bowtiesandginghamshirts has even posted a tutorial on how to make your very own. (via Nerd Approved)

Most of the discussion up to this point on Marvel’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy has had to do with that sexist, homophobic (or “satirical,” depending on your viewpoint) superhero post director James Gunn wrote that surfaced last month. But for those of you who haven’t sworn off the movie because of his involvement, we have a bit of casting news. Variety is reporting that the choice of actors for the lead role, Star-Lord (aka Peter Quill), is down to two: Jim Sturgess (l) and Zachary Levi.

James Gunn, the director tapped by Marvel Entertainment to bring the Guardians of the Galaxy to the big screen, has released a statement of apology through the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and you should all read it. It’s gracious, sincere, and refreshing.

Generally, I don’t make a habit of making news posts about things that happened on the Internet more than a year ago. Unless, of course, it managed to slip everyone’s attention and is just blowing up now. I also don’t make a habit of writing news posts about random people on the internet being jerks. Unless, of course, they’re not random people at all, but people with significant power over either legal matters or the media we consume.

The case of ”The 50 Superheroes You Most Want to Have Sex With,” or rather, the content of the commentary on the post of that name by writer/director James Gunn last year. See, in between last February and now, Gunn was tapped as the director for the first new set of characters to be introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 2, The Guardians of the Galaxy.

Most people probably don’t even know who Rocket Raccoon is, but one actor from AMC’s The Walking Dead wants to play him in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy movie. Plus, comic creator Robert Kirkman has announced a new prequel novel, but which character’s story will be told? Read on to find out!