'Superstore' Actor Nico Santos Joins 'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3'

Actor Nico Santos has joined the cast of one of the most highly anticipated Marvel movies of the year.

The Filipino-American actor is best known for playing Oliver T’sien in “Crazy Rich Asians” and Mateo Liwanag in the NBC comedy series “Superstore,” which earned him several nominations for Critics’ Choice Awards. He recently lent his voice to the HBO Max animated series “The Prince.”

On Tuesday, Deadline reported that he has been cast in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” which has recently wrapped production.

As Deadline reported, the third film in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie will see several famous faces reprising their roles (and voices), including, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Sylvester Stallone, Karen Gillan, Elizabeth Debicki, Will Poulter, and Chuk Iwuji.

“Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” star and Oscar nominee Maria Bakalova and “The Suicide Squad” breakout star Daniela Melchior have also joined the growing cast list. Production on the movie started last November.

Not much is known about the plot of the third Marvel installment, which will again be directed by James Gunn. It is reported to be the last film in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise. The first two films focused on half-human, half-alien Peter Quill (Star-Lord), played by Chris Pratt, and a band of intergalactic criminals trying to defend their universe from certain destruction.

The first two films, 2014’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” and 2017’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” grossed over $1.6 billion dollars at the global box office. The third movie is scheduled for a theatrical release on May 5, 2023.

Reality star Zeke Smith recently got engaged to Nico Santos at the 2022 GLAAD Media Awards back in April. The two had been dating for around four years after meeting at the GLAAD Media Awards in 2018. 

In the crowded room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Smith got down on one knee and asked Santos to marry him while they were supposed to be presenting an award onstage. A shocked Santos said yes as the audience erupted into loud applause.

Smith reportedly wore a black suit from Bonobos for the occasion, while Santos wore a Paul Smith burgundy suit. The moment was later posted to Instagram, in which Smith captioned the photo “He said yes. I’m the luckiest guy in the world. Thank you to @glaad and @tiffanyandco for making it magical.”

Smith is relieved to receive the support of fans for their relationship, as he faced challenges on the reality series when a contestant outed him for being transgender in 2017. Before the episode, Smith worked with GLAAD’s Transgender Media Program for several months “to ensure that Zeke would have the opportunity to speak for himself about his experience when the episode aired.”

However, he told People at the time that he didn’t want to be the ‘first transgender Survivor contestant.’” Smith added, “I’m not ashamed of being trans, but I didn’t want that to be my story ... I just wanted to go out on an adventure and play a great game. I just wanted to be known for my game.”