Joel Edgerton (The Thing), Jack Huston (Boardwalk
Empire), Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas), Lee Pace (Lincoln, The Hobbit), and Eddie
Redmayne (Les Miserables). Sources tell Deadline that Garrett Hedlund (Tron:
Legacy), James Marsden (X-Men) and Sullivan Stapleton (Animal Kingdom) are also being considered.
Here's a little history on Star Lord (from Wikipedia):
Peter Quill is born during an unusual astronomical
phenomenon when many of the planets align. Seeing no resemblance, the man who
believed he was Quill's father accuses his wife Meredith of infidelity and
attempts to kill the infant, but dies of a sudden heart attack. Quill is raised
by his single mother until she is killed by an alien. Quill is placed in an
orphanage but escapes and eventually becomes a trainee NASA astronaut. An alien
entity called the Master of the Sun eventually visits the space station that
Quill and other astronauts are inhabiting, and offers the mantle of Star-Lord
(an interplanetary policeman) to a worthy candidate. Quill volunteers, but is
rejected in favor of a colleague he once treated badly.
Quill is outraged, and NASA orders his return to Earth
and discharge for his conduct. Instead, he steals a scoutship, returns to the
space station, and takes his colleague's place. Quill becomes Star-Lord, with
the Master of the Sun first creating an illusion in which the character is able
to find and kill the aliens that murdered his mother to free him of his past.
Equipped with a sentient vessel called "Ship", Quill commences his
role as Star-Lord.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is scheduled for an August 1, 2014 release. The film will be directed by James Gunn, based on a screenplay
written by Nicole Perlman, Chris McCoy, and Gunn.