20 Guardians of the Galaxy characters we want to see on the big screen

Why We Want Him: Bug wont be happy that he wasnt included in the first big screen Guardians line up. A green locust with superhuman strength, a rocket lance and a pretty good sense of humour, Bug spent most of his time in the comics moaning that Starlord didnt recruit him earlier.

Who Should Play Him: Steve Buscemi

Why We Want Him: Stabbed in the spine by Bullseye, the superhuman super-patriot spends most of his time in a wheelchair. Variously patched up and back on his feet in the comics, theres plenty of room for the MCUs first disabled hero (if you dont count Professor X) in Starlords team. Also, he once killed someone with a boom box.

Who Should Play Him: Armie Hammer

Why We Want Him: A blue, bald, time-travelling astronaut who carries Caps shield and wears an anti-aging Adamantium space suit, Vance Astro is the founding member of The Guardians which pretty much guarantees him screen time if the franchise continues. Another displaced human might make a nice foil for Quill too.

Who Should Play Him: Jason Statham

Why We Want Her: Just because she was ranked #99 in Comics Buyers Guides 100 Sexiest Women in Comics, it doesnt mean Mantis doesnt deserve a shot at the big screen. Half-Vietnamese, half-German (but quite often drawn bright green), she was abandoned in an alien temple as a baby and raised as a hooker before starting her super-career in The Avengers. Telepathic, self-healing and a master martial artist she can even knock out Thor by squeezing his pressure points.

Who Should Play Her: Maggie Q

Why We Want Her: In case you dont know, Drax the Destroyer is actually the reanimated corpse of a Las Vegas jazz musician. Moondragon (real name Heather Douglas) is his daughter, escaping Thanos as a little girl and growing up on Titan where she shaved her head, developed psionic powers and learnt to turn into a massive dragon. Daddy issues abound when she joins Drax in space giving her a character a moral murkiness thats ripe for the screen.

Who Should Play Her: Noomi Rapace

Why We Want Him: Why? Because hes a better, cooler Spider Man. Going from Peter Parkers school bully, to a legless Iraq war vet, to a symbiotically bonded web-slinger--Flash Thompson has all of Spideys powers with none of his gawkiness (and twice the moral murkiness). Awkwardly flirting with most Marvel supergroups, he could just as easily show up in a future Avengers movie (or else help bridge the gap between the two franchises?).

Who Should Play Him: Damien Lewis

Why We Want Her: Spawned from Spawn, Angela is another obvious link between Ultron and the Guardians. An angel and a bounty hunter who looks like an adult Brave, wears a gold metal bikini and wields a broadsword--Angela also has deeper roots in the Marvelverse (one thread paints her backstory as Thor and Lokis long lost sister).

Who Should Play Her: Bryce Dallas Howard

Why We Want Her: The bigger question is why hasnt there already been a Captain Marvel movie? Part of the problem seems to be that the MCU has to pick one of (at least) seven different iterations of the character--from Stan Lees original alien jarhead to the current Carol Ms Marvel Danvers. They should probably just get to it before DC get there first

Who Should Play Her: Charlize Theron

Why We Want Him: A walking Groundhog Day, Starhawk is fated to re-inhabit his own body and live his life over and over again. An all-knowing wise-ass, hes the guy who dips into various different super teams, helps them defeat a bad guy and then says he knew theyd win anyway. Annoying? Slightly. Cool? Definitely.

Who Should Play Him: Bill Murray

Why We Want Him: A dying alien has to pass his on his powers (strength, speed, flight, invulnerability, blaster hands) to someone, so he randomly picks a teenager in New York--turning Richard Rider into an interstellar cop and beginning a fan-favourite super arc thats ripe for the MCU picking. Being a regular kid from Earth, hes also pretty quip heavy--making him another perfect fit for Peter Quills team. Nova's police force have already been introduced in Guardians Of The Galaxy, so there's every chance he could show up in a sequel.

Who Should Play Him: Scott Porter (only because hes been pestering James Gunn about it on Twitter)

Why We Want Him: Because hes a MAN GOD! The Frankenstein story of the Marvelverse, Warlock was the result of scientists trying to build the perfect human being. Getting instantly bored on Earth, he shoots off to outer space to join the Guardians and carry a tiny universe around in his pocket--playing a big part in thwarting Thanos search for the Infinity Gems.

Who Should Play Him: Charlie Hunnam

Why We Want Him: Because hes a MAN DEVIL! At one stage in Adam Warlocks back-story, he gets kidnapped by Lord Chaos and lectured to--eventually deciding that bad guys have more fun, time-travelling back to before he was born and starting a whole new space-time-continuum-shattering alter-ego.

Who Should Play Him: Charlie Hunnam

Why We Want Her: Okay, no one wants to see the MCU ruined by a rubbish child actor, but bringing 10-year-old Cammi to the screen is worth the risk. Shes human, she doesnt have any powers, shes rubbish at fighting and her only training for space combat is playing video games--all of which is kinda cool, and even more relatable than Peter Quills journey.

Who Should Play Her: Quevanzhan Wallis

Why We Want Them: Space pirates. Do we really need to say any more? Sometimes helping, sometimes hindering the supers--but mostly just plundering, drinking rum and swashbuckling--Chod, Corsair, Korvus et al make the Guardians look un-cool by comparison.

Who Should Play Them: Nathan Fillion (as Corsair)

Why We Want Them: Less a character than an institution, a narrative bent that wed love to see opening up more intergalactic doors in the MCU. Essentially a cult, the Universal Church Of Truth has been behind some of the biggest Big Bads in the comics (not least Thanos) and plays a large part in the Adam Warlock strand. Previously led by Cardinal Arokine and Magus, a shadowy Matriarch now leads the UCT--a character whose true identity still hasnt been revealed

Who Should Play Them: Angelica Huston (as Matriarch)

Why We Want Them: So much more than just space orks (and so much more interesting than Marvels other CG fodder like Kree and Skrulls), the Badoon would make for a better class of alien horde. Notably, the male and female Badoon hate each other (except during mating season)--living on separate planets and fighting an ongoing gender war whenever theyre not getting mown down by super-teams.

Who Should Play Them: WETA

Why We Want Him: Marvels supervillain roster might be crowded enough, but theres something very important that Vulcan could bring to the table: The X-Men. Real name Gabriel Summers, Vulcan is the younger brother of Cyclops and Havok--the product of a different upbringing and a serious revenge complex--and could be the key to bringing Marvels wayward (read sold) supers back to the MCU.

Who Should Play Him: Theo James

Why We Want Her: Okay, things are about to get esoteric. Death (the concept) exists in all the Marvel universes (except The Cancerverse, but dont even get us started on that), but Death (the entity) is a character that, despite not having any real physical form, plays a very big part in the Guardians story. Often depicted as a sexy skeleton in a black robe (that somehow still has boobs), Death is the whole reason that Thanos is after the infinity stones--falling madly in love and wanting to give her something better than flowers and chocolates

Who Should Play Her: William Sadler

Why We Want Him: Wonder Man is a bit boring on his own, but his future (Earth-691) version is much cooler. Yes, he has a few super powers (strength, stamina, thick skin), but hes essentially just a fat old man. Theres an interesting hook for the MCU, though, with Simon Hollywood Williams also famous for being an ex movie-star--giving the Guardians a neat meta twist.

Who Should Play Him: Nick Nolte

Why We Want Him: Because hes a dog. A former test animal for the Soviet Space Program, Cosmo drifted off course during the Cold War and mutated into a telepathic super mutt. Landing on the Knowhere space station (and finding employment as its security chief), Cosmo actually plays a critical part in the Guardians eventual story. He looks cute too.

Who Should Play Him: Uggie