Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the mix for lead in 'Guardians of the Galaxy'

While rumors persist that Joseph Gordon-Levitt may somehow don the cape and cowl of Batman in Justice League, the likelihood is that he's done with DC superheroes for the time being. Of course, the distinguished competition at Marvel has a plethora of costumed heroes to choose from, and with Guardians of the Galaxy casting up right now, his name has popped up on the shortlist of contenders.

Late last month a rumor emerged that Zachary Levi and Jim Sturgess were among the finalists for the role of Star-Lord, the team leader of the star-spanning squad who figure to be major players on the way to The Avengers' sequel. Part of that story was the suggestion that a third actor would enter the picture after the holidays, and apparently Gordon-Levitt is that guy. Now, director James Gunn came out a couple of weeks ago and said most of the casting speculation was completely false, so who knows how much credence there is to any of this. Deadline doesn't seem to know if an offer has been made or if Gordon-Levitt is just on the list.

So what do you think? Good idea or bad idea? I like it, personally, and if anyone is deserving of a chance to lead a franchise like this it's him. Jeremy Renner has like eight all by himself, so why can't Gordon-Levitt have one? Guardians of the Galaxy is expected in theaters on August 1st 2014.