Terry Crews Joins the MCU's Guardians of the Galaxy in Surprising Role
Terry Crews is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he isn't appearing in a Marvel Studios movie. Instead, Disney Parks announced that the Brooklyn 99 actor will appear in the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind ride, which opens next month at EPCOT at Walt Disney World resort. You can take a first look at Crews, who will play Centurion Tal Marik, a close advisor to Nova Prime (played by Glenn Close, who is reprising her role from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie) below. We'll note that Marik is a character unique to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and isn't an established Marvel character.
FIRST LOOK: @TerryCrews gearing up for his new role as Centurion Tal Marik, Commander of the Starcharter and close advisor to Nova Prime. Marik must call on the Guardians because it's "SAVE THE GALAXY TIME...again!" #CosmicRewind pic.twitter.com/P910ygZKsW
— Disney Parks (@DisneyParks) April 25, 2022
It seems that director James Gunn may have recruited Crews earlier this year after Crews commented on his love of Rom: The Spaceknight, a character who appeared in a series of 1980s Marvel comics but is not actually owned by Marvel. Gunn replied to a fan's request to add Rom to the next Guardians of the Galaxy movie that he couldn't due to a rights issue, to which Crews replied ""Damn! I loved the ROM series…!"
Alas I cannot as Marvel no longer holds the rights to Rom – just to some other Spaceknights and parts of the story created in the comics – otherwise, believe you me, ol’ toaster head would probably be in the Guardians by now. https://t.co/UPw9US7rmf
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) December 30, 2021
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will be Disney World's first Marvel-themed ride. Due to a licensing agreement with Universal Studios, Disney cannot use most Marvel characters at US parks east of the Mississippi River, but that agreement does not seem to apply to the Guardians of the Galaxy. Other Disney parks (including Disneyland and Disneyland Paris) have an Avengers Campus featuring multiple Marvel attractions.
The new ride is a unique "storycoaster" that will tell a story involving the Guardians, the Celestial Eson, and the Nova Corps. Not only will the roller coaster's cars rotate in 360 degrees so that riders can see the story play out, they'll also get to see Disney World's first ever "reverse launch" coaster. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will also be one of the longest enclosed coasters in existence.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind will open on May 27th.
