Round-Up: Deadpool Casting Update, Voice of Star-Lord Cast in Animated Guardians of the Galaxy Series, Dreadstar TV Series

Welcome to a special edition of our news round-up, this time focusing on three comic book adaptations. The female lead in the Deadpool movie has been cast, the voice actors for Star-Lord/Peter Quill, Drax, Groot, and Rocket have been revealed for Disney XD's Guardians of the Galaxy animated series (and fans of Boy Meets World and Batman Beyond should be very pleased with the Quill casting), and it's been announced that a Dreadstar TV series is in the works with the creator of the comic book series, Jim Starlin, executive producing and writing the project.

Deadpool: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Morena Baccarin (Inara Serra from Firefly and Serenity, Homeland, Gotham) will play the female lead in the upcoming Ryan Reynolds-starring Deadpool movie. The name of Baccarin's character has not yet been revealed, so it's unknown if she'll play a character from the Marvel comic book universe. We do know that Baccarin will play the love interest of Reynolds' Deadpool, aka Wade Wilson.

It was recently revealed that Gina Carano (Haywire, Fast & Furious 6) has signed on to play the super-powered mutant Angel Dust in Tim Miller's Deadpool movie for Fox. In the Marvel comics, Angel Dust first appeared in 2002's Morlocks #1. She has the power to drastically increase her adrenaline—an invaluable skill in the type of fights we've seen in superhero movies of late.

T.J. Miller (Silicon Valley, Cloverfield) is also slated to appear in a comedic relief role, while the X-Men mutant Colossus (whose first print appearance dates back to the revamped X-Men lineup that debuted in 1975) is also set to make an appearance, though it's not yet known who will play the metallic mutant. Reynolds, of course, reprises his role as the Merc with a Mouth, a character he played memorably (albeit too briefly) in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Visual effects wizard Miller makes his feature directorial debut with Deadpool off a script by Zombieland writers Rhett Rheese and Paul Wernick. Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg produce the project, which looks to begin production in March. The film is due out in theaters on February 12th, 2016.

Though an official plot synopsis has not yet been revealed, the movie is expected to follow Wade Wilson as he goes under the knife in hopes of curing his cancer, only to find himself bestowed with a superhuman healing ability, strikingly scarred features, and a warped sense of humor. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for more details.

Morena Baccarin:

Guardians of the Galaxy Animated Series: Earlier this week Marvel announced that Trevor Devall will voice Rocket Raccoon and Kevin Michael Richardson will play Groot on the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy animated series on Disney XD, and today Disney Channel PR revealed that Will Friedle will voice Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, and that David Sobolov will voice Drax. The animated series is due to debut sometime this year.

Star-Lord is in good hands... or vocal cords, depending on how you look at it. In addition to playing Cory Matthew's older brother Eric on all seven seasons of Boy Meets World (a role he'll reprise in season 2 of Girl Meets World), Will Friedle has enjoyed a successful career in voice acting, bringing Green Arrow, Autobot Bumblebee, Deadpool, the Blue Beetle, Ron Stoppable, and the future Batman (aka Terry McGinnis) to life on the animated screen. Below are three announcement videos from the recent casting as well as test footage from the series:

Dreadstar: Deadline reveals that Universal Cable Productions and Benderspink are developing Jim Starlin's Dreadstar comic book series into a TV series, with Starlin writing and executive producing. For those unfamiliar with the comic that was originally published under Marvel's Epic Comics and now has a home at Dynamite Entertainment, here's a brief synopsis (via Deadline):

"...centers on Vanth Dreadstar, sole survivor of the entire Milky Way galaxy, and an ensemble cast of crewmates, including cyborg sorcerer Syzygy Darklock, and their struggle to end an ancient war between two powerful, evil empires: The Church of The Instrumentality, run by the Lord Papal; and the Monarchy, administered by King Gregzor."