Walking Dead’s Merle Lives On in Guardians of the Galaxy

In perhaps unsurprising casting news, The Walking Dead’s Michael Rooker (Merle Dixon) has been cast in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

Rooker, who has worked with Guardians director James Gunn in two previous films, Slither and Super, will take on the role of Yondu, a founding member of the original Guardians of the Galaxy.

Yondu, according to Marvel canon, was a game hunter belonging to a primitive tribe from to Centauri IV, which was the first planet to be colonized outside of our Sun’s solar system.

Chris Pratt (Zero Dark Thirty, Moneyball, Parks and Recreation) signed up in February to play the lead, Star-Lord, the Guardians’ leader and offspring of a human mother and alien father.

Disney is aiming for an August 1 2014 release.