Moviegoers have grown used to seeing Lee Pace in the guise of The Hobbit's Thranduil, but Pace has a far more villainous role to play in The Guardians of the Galaxy.

While Guardians of the Galaxy is often considered to be the odd child of Marvel's Phase Two, the ensemble production has attracted some big names who seem quite excited about the superhero outing.

Directed by James Gunn, the film features Lee Pace as the major villain, Ronan the Accuser, and The Hobbit star recently spoke about his "real psychopathic beast" of a character.

"It was awesome! That movie's going to kick ass! We've just knocked it out of the park, it's going to be wild," Pace told Total Film Magazine. "I kept looking over at [director] James Gunn saying, 'Is it too much? Am I over the top? Pull me back whenever you're ready!' And he was like, 'More, more!' He's a true villain!"

Although Guardians is slightly less hyped than films like Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World since it doesn't feature a member of the Avengers, Pace believes that viewers could find an Iron Man level of interest in galactic heroes.

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"Guardians of the Galaxy is a bit deeper into the Marvel Universe, which I think is to its advantage," Pace said, according to Total Film Magazine. "Iron Man was something that people were not super-familiar with when that movie first came out. I think people are certainly going to like this film and I certainly hope they do. It's fun!"

Set for release on Aug. 1, Guardians also features Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Chris Pratt, Benicio Del Toro, and Glenn Close. Click the video below to get a look at Del Toro's Collector as shown in the Thor: The Dark World mid-credit scene.

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Guardians Of The Galaxy, Marvel, Movies