Back in June, Vin Diesel informed fans on his Facebook page that Marvel had requested a meeting with him but that he had no idea what it was about. The blogosphere immediately exploded with speculation about what roles he might be suitable for, many pegging him as the android Vision or possibly the voice of Thanos. A week or two later he posted a picture of himself posing in front of an issue of The Avengers #57 with no other clues to support it. It seemed likely that the full explanation would eventually be revealed at the San Diego Comic-Con, but the event came and went without Vin Diesel being mentioned at any Marvel-related panels. Now over the weekend he has provided another pretty clear cut hint as to what his role will be: could he be voicing Groot in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy?

The rumour stems from another post that appeared on Diesel’s Facebook page simply containing an image of Groot. It has since been removed from his page making it difficult to verify, but many are wondering why this news was not announced at Disney’s D23 Expo over the weekend. Although most people assumed he would be involved in one of Marvel’s Phase Three films, a voice role would certainly be possible for Guardians of the Galaxy despite the fact that shooting is already underway.

Groot is “an extraterrestrial, sentient tree-like creature” with enhanced strength, genius level intellect and regenerative abilities. Hilariously, he only ever appears to utter a single phrase (“I Am Groot!”) over and over again and only those who speak his language can truly understand what he is saying. Now I’m starting to see why they wanted Vin Diesel for the role.

It’s worth noting that one of Diesel’s earliest roles was providing the voice of Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant. It’s also worth noting that this news is not yet confirmed and we still don’t know who is voicing Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy. That being said, what do you think… could Vin Diesel make a great Groot?