Bradley Cooper to play gun-wielding, killer raccoon from outer space in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’?

That's the sort of headline you don't read too often.

With a huge ensemble cast already in place and filming currently underway in the U.K., you’d think that Marvel’s upcoming galactic comic book adventure "Guardians of the Galaxy" would have wrapped up casting ages ago. Not so.

Although director James Gunn seems to have locked down Vin Diesel for the role of Groot – a monosyllabic extraterrestrial tree monster – the production still needs to find an actor to voice the character of Rocket Raccoon - a gun-crazed alien mercenary who resembles a raccoon and provides much of the film’s comic relief. Yes, that is a sentence, and yes, you read it correctly.

Marvel had reportedly been talking to Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey about the part, but now word is that the studio has approached "Silver Linings Playbook" star Bradley Cooper about the role. According to the rumour-mongers over at Latino Review, Cooper is Gunn’s “dream guy” for the Rocket Raccoon role. The report cites a well-placed source within the production who claims that Marvel has already made Cooper an offer.

As one of Hollywood's busiest and most in-demand leading men, Cooper might be hard to lock down, but if any company can do so, it's Marvel. The Oscar-nominated actor would be a big win for "Guardians," which has a wonderful cast that includes Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, John C. Reilly, Benicio Del Toro, and Glenn Close, but doesn't really have a big name who is guaranteed to put butts in seats. Star power is definitely something that would benefit the oddball sci-fi superhero movie.

Even by the “out there” standards of the superhero movie genre, “Guardians of the Galaxy” is shaping up to be one of the most unusual film projects to come out of Marvel – or any any studio, for that matter – in years. Based on the comic book of the same name, the film centres on a rag-tag group of spacebound superheroes who guard the galaxy from various threats - including Marvel Universe baddie Thanos, who was spotted in the post-credits scene of "The Avengers."

Cooper's involvement in "Guardians of the Galaxy" seems plausible for many reasons. For one, Marvel's likes to anchor their superhero properties on acclaimed actors and/or established stars - Cooper fits into both those categories. Another factor working Marvel's favour? Money. Cooper may be a busy guy, but the studio is likely to pony up big bucks for what will likely amount to a very small commitment on the actor's part. Rocket Raccoon is a computer character, which means Cooper will only have to spend a few weeks tops in a recording studio somewhere. On top of all that, there's the appeal of the role itself. How often does an actor get to play a wise-cracking anthropomorphic raccoon with an affinity for laser guns? It's the role of a lifetime!

"Guardians of the Galaxy" blasts into theatres on August 1, 2014.