Chris Pratt lands lead role in Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

Chris Pratt has landed the lead role in Marvel's "Guardians of the Galaxy," according to Deadline.

Bing: More about Chris Pratt | More about 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

The "Parks and Recreation" star, who can currently be seen on the big screen as a Navy SEAL in "Zero Dark Thirty," will play Peter Quill, the child of an alien father and human mother who joins NASA and eventually makes it into space. There he encounters an alien presence known as the Master of the Sun who names him Star-Lord, leader of the cosmic police force known as the Guardians of the Galaxy.

Both the character and the Guardians had slow starts at Marvel Comics in the late '60s and '70s, but a relaunch in 2008 proved more successful.

Pratt beat out an impressive list of other actors for the role, including Joel Edgerton (also in "Zero Dark Thirty"), Lee Pace ("The Hobbit"), Eddie Redmayne ("Les Miserables"), Garrett Hedlund ("Tron: Legacy"), James Marsden ("X-Men"), Zachary Levi ("Chuck"), Joseph Gordon-Levitt ("The Dark Knight Rises") and many others. The film is being written and directed by James Gunn ("Slither").

In the comics, the Guardians and the Avengers teamed up to battle Thanos, the galactic super-villain glimpsed at the end of last year's "The Avengers." With the Guardians also rumored to be making a cameo at the end of "Iron Man 3," the stage is being set for both 2014's "Guardians" and 2015's "The Avengers 2."