Guardians Of The Galaxy: Everything You Need To Know About The Movie
The tenth movie in Marvel’s Cinematic Universe comes to theatres this summer. If you aren’t familiar with Guardians Of The Galaxy, don’t sweat it, neither are many die-hard comic book readers. Marvel guru Stan Lee recently confessed why he won’t be making a cameo in this movie, “No, I’m afraid not, that’s the one group I didn’t create. I didn’t write Guardians of the Galaxy. I’m not even sure who they all are. I can’t wait to see the movie.”
Who are the Guardians Of The Galaxy? What is the movie about and why should Marvel fans care? These are some questions Marvel and Disney need to address in their marketing campaign to get people in the theatres for the all-important opening weekend. Guardians of the Galaxy could be a huge summer blockbuster or maybe it’ll be lucky to barely break even on its sizeable budget. One things for sure, Guardians needs more awareness to get general movie-goers excited.
Continue reading to find out what you need to know about Guardians Of The Galaxy starring Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Dave Batista and many more.
*** Updated with Trailer Impressions and Official Movie Screenshots ***
WHY MARVEL IS MAKING A GUARDIANS MOVIE
Each of Marvel Studio’s franchises have a different feel and scope. Guardians Of The Galaxy is a science fiction romp mainly taking place in outer space; it’s a different flavor that’s sets it apart from other Marvel movies such as the political thriller of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the fantasy adventure of Thor: The Dark World. Parent company Disney bought the rights to Star Wars, so in a way Guardians is Marvel’s own property for telling intergalactic, space adventure stories.
As Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand, the studio is very aware of superhero fatigue. Because the main characters of Guardians Of The Galaxy are unknown and “far out there” they could be embraced as something fresh and exciting. Of course, these same factors make this movie a big gamble for Marvel. Characters from Guardians as well the movie’s macguffin nicely sets up the groundwork for phase three of MCU.
Ultimately, it’s all about making money. Guardians has a potential winning formula as an action-adventure in space with misfit kick-ass characters and director James Gunn’s signature brand of twisted humour.
An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe.
To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits–Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon; Groot, a tree-like humanoid; the deadly and enigmatic Gamora; and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand–with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.
MEET THE GUARDIANS
Guardians of The Galaxy is a ragtag team of misfit aliens, nicknamed the Cosmic Avengers. They find trouble as much as trouble likes to find them. Guardians are an unlikely team but they’ll keep on fighting when the galaxy needs someone to take a stand and are Earth’s first line of defence.
• Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star Lord
Originally from Earth, Peter Quill is half human and half Spartoi. He’s a self-serving rogue who eventually learns to put others before himself. Based on Marvel’s synopsis, the movie will be an origin story of how the Guardians get together as a team with Peter Quill as their leader. In a role that every young actor in Hollywood coveted, Chris Pratt brings an instant likeability factor and his knack for comedy.
• Zoe Saldana as Gamora
Deadly and enigmatic are words that have been used to describe Gamora. In the comics, Gamora is billed as the most dangerous woman in the universe and is the adopted daughter of Thanos (more on him later). Not to be typecast as a blue alien, Avatar’s Zoe Saldana goes green in Guardians. No relation to the Hulk. 😉
• Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket Raccoon
Don’t let this walking, talking furry animal fool you. He’ll shoot first, ask questions never. Rocket is a genetically engineered, gun slinging raccoon. He could easily steal this movie with his acerbic, sharp-tongued one-liners. The banter between Bradley Cooper’s Rocket and Chris Pratt’s Star Lord is a comedy gold-mine if the screenwriters are on point.
• Vin Diesel as Groot
Groot is a tree man-monster with extraordinary regenerative abilities. He could possibly be more intelligent than his limited vocabulary might suggest. You won’t forget his name by the end of the movie. Providing the voice and motion capture is action star and one-time nanny Vin Diesel.
• Dave Batista as Drax The Destroyer
WWE star Dave Batista is a good fit as the muscles of the team. In the comics, “Drax is a human resurrected as a green warrior with the sole purpose of killing Thanos. His powers include flight, super-strength and energy blasts” according to THR.
MEET THE VILLAINS & SUPPORTING CAST
Thanos, as seen in the post-credit teaser in Avengers, is the ultimate big bad of MCU. He’ll be pulling the strings behind the scenes in Guardians Of The Galaxy but the movie’s true villain is Ronan The Accuser played by The Hobbit’s Lee Pace. Ronan is a super powerful judge, jury and executioner type figure according to Screenrant. Joining the rogues gallery is Doctor Who’s Karen Gillan as a bald-headed villainess named Nebula and Djimon Hounsou as Korath the Pursuer.
Rounding out the cast is Benicio Del Toro who reprises his role as The Collector, Glenn Close as Nova Prime Rael (leader of Nova Corps), John C. Reilly as Rohmann Dey and Michael Rooker as Centaurian bowman Yondu.
TRAILER IMPRESSIONS
The wait for the trailer is over! The World Premiere of Guardians Of The Galaxy trailer debuted on February 18th, 2014. Now we can bask in its afterglow.
The trailer gives a good impression of what to expect from the movie especially for anyone who’s hasn’t heard about Guardians before. The irreverent humour establishes the tone for the movie. Guardians is not going to take itself too seriously which is a positive sign considering one of the main characters is a talking raccoon.
It’s a smart decision to focus on introducing each team member instead of giving away the plot. I’m pleased with the look of Rocket Racoon and Groot as they were big questions marks for me until now. I can’t wait to see more of Rocket with his guns blazing. I’m still warming up to the look of Gamora but I do like the menacing sly smile she gives while posing for her mugshot. What the trailer doesn’t answer is what will the voice of Bradley Cooper as Rocket Racoon sound like?
There’s a lot to take in particularly during the sizzle reel portion near the end of the trailer. Instead of listing all the best moments, I’m just going to pick 3 of them.
Top 3 Favorite Trailer Moments
#3. Star Lord, man … legendary outlaw? – It’s ironic because most people who are watching the trailer for the first time are also asking “Who is Star Lord?” If you close your eyes you might think it’s Emmett from the Lego Movie – that’s because it is! Peter Quill has been compared to Hans Solo but there’s a bit of Indiana Jones reference when he picks up that orb from the pedestal.
#2. What a bunch of A*holes! – I think this line was also in the comic-con teaser where I originally thought John C. Reilly delivered it. It’s still funny and awesome as ever.
#1. Oh I’m Sorry, I didn’t know how this machine worked. – On my first watch, I actually didn’t find it that funny. But man, it’s hilarious! This is why you hire Chris Pratt, an actor with the comedic skills to pull off gags like this. If cranking up the obscene gesture didn’t work for you maybe it’ll be funnier in the theatre with a bunch of people laughing out loud.
What do you like or dislike about the trailer? Do you like the song choice “I’m Hooked On A Feeling”?
FINAL THOUGHTS
The mysterious orb which Peter Quill steals, along with the Tesseract introduced in Captain America: The First Avenger and the Aether from Thor: The Dark World are pieces of a bigger puzzle in MCU’s master plan. While it may be a little too early for Marvel to show their hand, fans can speculate with relative certainty that Thanos wants to get his mitts on these artifacts of immense power.
Guardians of the Galaxy is set for release on August 1, 2014 across most of the world including North America and UK.
Please bookmark this page for future reference. As new information becomes available this post will be updated.
Are you anticipating Guardians Of The Galaxy? Do you think Guardians will be a box office success or a failure? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Hi Halim. The characters look and sound interesting. I’m pretty impressed with all the famous actors too. Glad to hear this has gotten you intrigued about the movie.
Great description. I now know way more than I did before. 🙂
I will say . . . I’m not sure Marvel needs to do all that much marketing for this. Right now, everything they touch is gold for mass going audiences. I have a feeling this one gets plenty of turnout the first weekend. If it sucks, people will stop coming, but we’ll be curious to see whether or not it sucks. 🙂
Hello there! I agree that the Marvel brand is very bankable and there’s not much competition around it’s release date … unless you count TMNT. 🙂 Avengers had the hype and momentum of five films leading up to its release, it’ll be interesting to see how receptive fans will be to this new team without cameos from Iron Man or Thor etc. If this movie totally sucks, marketing won’t be able to save it. Marvel/Disney are thinking beyond the movie though … video games, merchandising, animated TV show etc it’ll be interesting how’ll they’ll develop this property.
Thanks so much for reading the post and I greatly appreciate you taking the time to comment! 🙂
Don’t agree about the marketing. ANYBODY can stumble at ANY time. Plus, this project is a complete unknown outside of comic circles with little to no guarantee of success. Having said all that, it’s a testament to their confidence and actual market position that they can go ahead with a project like this and nobody really questions the why.
I don’t know a thing about it, outside of what I read in this article. Didn’t know who would be in the cast, save Del Toro (whom I only knew because of Thor), and I didn’t know any of the characters. I still know what the Guardians do, or for whom they do it.
Yet, even before I read this article, there was never any doubt I was going to see this movie, in the theater. Simply because it’s Marvel.
Having an established brand name certainly helps, no question. If you’ve got enough of a good track record, it makes people give the brand the benefit of the doubt when it comes to exotic experiments like this. BUT…it only takes a few high profile fiascos to completely ruin a rep to the point where you’re box office poison (see M. Night Shymalin, who went from “The Sixth Sense” to “The Last Airbender”). Thus, I’m concerned.
That’s the reason why I was a bit concerned when Marvel first announced Guardians of the Galaxy. Although one box office disaster won’t stop Marvel in it’s tracks, what if Guardians is a bomb, Avengers 2 doesn’t connect with audiences and Ant Man is a hot mess … it could tarnish their brand and we’ll get less risk taking.
Very cool, glad you liked the summary! When this movie was first announced I was surprised – I never heard of Guardians before; plus excited and a little wary because it possibly be a flop.
Brilliant article as I didn’t know anything about Guardians of the Galaxy apart from it being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and that it was being released this year. Now I know why Batista is back in the WWE – looking to promote the film I guess.
…it sounds like a great story on paper – but aren’t they all. I’m fascinated to see how this turns out.
Hi Dan. I had to do a fair amount of searching to get the info, most of it is news to me too. Yeah, it’s likely more than coincidental timing that Batista is back in the WWE. I think he signed a short term contract to keep his options open if he gets more movie offers.
I’m fascinated to see how this turns out too considering this is an unknown, unproven property while Warner/DC comics is slowly getting their act together with Superman Vs Batman and eventually/maybe Justice League.
I personally would argue that DC is actually NOT getting its act together. If reports of the Superman/Batman movie are accurate, they’re about to bet a stack of chips on a real long shot. It’s more than just name brand that makes a movie succeed; it’s execution.
While I didn’t LOVE Man of Steel I’m looking forward to the follow up movie. I think it was overly ambitious to announce a 2015 release date at comic con last year, when they could have kept quiet on the date. I do hear you about that the delay to 2016 and script rewrites; they should have planned this all out years ago. Hopefully though, taking the extra time in development will help.
I am less optimistic, personally. A project like this CAN indeed pull itself up by its own bootstraps with the extra time. But I still question how serious they’re taking the overall situation. The litany of decisions before this shows a great deal of UNseriousness about how they may be handicapping the project. As such, they may well be using this extra time to buy them some breathing space to take the heat off their previous mistakes. But the final proof will be in the actual film.
I think you’re right that DC Comics needs to sort its step phase out quickly but there’s no denying that the work Nolan did with Batman was incredible. So they’ve got that in the locker while Marvel, in their release of so many movies, have a few duds (Thor, Hulk).
Nolan’s Batman films are fantastic, I wish there were more movies in that universe. Though not all of Marvel’s films are great, they do have a game plan for their universe which made a Guardians movie possible.
Haha, something tells me he did a few stomach crunches too. 😉 He said in another interview that he gained weight for Delivery Man and continued gaining weight after shooting, reaching up to 295 lbs! He auditioned for Guardians before loosing any weight and still got the part haha. I’d be so disappointed if the movie’s an epic fail,
The potential for failure is there. If anything, this may be the riskiest project of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far. Still, no risk, no reward.
Yup this is their riskiest project. What I like about Marvel is they do take calculated risks. I hope this movie pays off but like you said it could be a failure.
Believe it or not, when I was getting into comics, I actually DID hear about the Guardians of the Galaxy (albeit a different incarnation than this bunch) and I know about four of the key players here.
There is a reason why Gamora is the most dangerous woman in the universe…she’s the sole survivor of her race that Thanos saved from certain death when the rest of them were being wiped out. He did the genetic engineering and gave her the training that allowed her to become the “most dangerous woman in the universe”. Given Thanos popping up on the radar, it’d be hard to imagine SOME of this background not showing up.
Groot is actually older as a character than any of the others, going back to the original monster comics that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby did before revitalizing superheroes. Originally he was an alien invader who was taken down by a mild-mannered scientist who pegged his unlikely weakness. Beyond that, you know more than I do.
Drax the Destroyer, as originally conceived, was a normal human being killed by a random alien invader. He was raised by some cosmic entity or another (I think Chronus, but I couldn’t swear to it) for the sole purpose of destroying Thanos, hence the title “Destroyer”. I doubt that this will survive the movie revamp but we’ll see.
Ronan the Accuser was originally a Fantastic Four villain, part of the war-like race known as the Kree (Captain Mar-Vell’s race, for those of you keeping score at home). Accusers, for the Kree race, were sort of like intergalactic Judge Dredds: judge/jury/executioner in one badass package. Ronan’s title of being “The Accuser” is a sign of the Judge Dredd-esque rep that he acquired along the way. Do I even need to mention that he was something of a space Nazi?
I think this movie CAN succeed but they’ll have a lot of uphill sledding on their hands. Still, if they can do better than DC did with an established character like Green Lantern, well, weirder things have happened.
Awesome, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! It’s great to have all this info summarized and it sheds more light on these characters who have a fascinating history. I definitely learned a lot of cool stuff.
One of things about the current run of Guardians of the Galaxy is that it doesn’t delve into their back stories, except for the 0.1 issue on Peter Quill.
I’ve read some of the wikis but it’s a guessing game as to what aspects of a character’s background will be included, revamped or completely jettisoned in the movie. I also think it’s hard to imagine some of Gamora’s history with Thanos not showing up, considering he’s going to be a major player down the line.
The origins of Groot and Drax are also fascinating but my guess is that the movie won’t be touching upon this. As for Ronan, this is all news to me! I had no idea he’s originally a FF villain. I heard that Nebula is sort of like a space pirate so I’d imagine she’d be quite the match for this space Nazi. Hehe.
With all the characters and brand new universe in space, there’s a tonne of information to absorb and make sense of which makes Guardians a tougher movie to sell. I’ve read an interview from a Marvel exec and they’re basically using Green Lantern as a case of what not to do haha.
When it comes to backstory, it all comes back to whether it will help or hinder the story. I can easily see the creators taking the same approach as the creators of the best of the X-Men franchise (to wit, X1, X2, and First Class) did with their large cast’s background.
I’m with you on Drax and Groot, “that was another country” and all that. I am glad that Marvel execs are indeed looking at that catastrophe that was the Green Lantern movie (when you can smell the loser stink on it from the trailer alone, you know it’s going to be a bomb…which was true for me and this film). It actually had very similar themes, cast sizes, and story scope. Looking at where that misbegotten piece of filmmaking (which, if there is any justice in the universe, will go on to replace the Stallone version of “Judge Dredd” as shorthand for bad comic movies) went off the rails is an excellent place to start.
Got some info on Nebula as well, albeit a bit more sketchy than the rest of the players we’ve talked about thus far. “Space pirate” is a pretty descriptor for her, though I personally would characterize her as “Mystique in space” personality-wise. But the biggest kernel of info I have on this gal is that she always claimed to be (though it was never really confirmed) Thanos’ granddaughter. Again, I see as something that may be put into play in this film.
It’ll be interesting to see how well actress Karen Gillan plays a villainous Nebula. I’ve only seen her as The Doctor’s companion which is a very different role. I’ve never heard of Nebula before writing this article. I did come across some info that she’s connected to Thanos, though I didn’t hear about the grandaughter part, but that could very well be the case. In one comic storyline, she’s sort of the Achilles heel of Thanos.
That’s pretty much Yondu’s standard, established look. I wouldn’t necessarily say that he’s the Guardians’ “mascot” per se but he certainly is one of its most recognizable characters.
That reminds me…the original setup for Guardians of the Galaxy was actually pretty unique. Vance Astro, astronaut from Earth, goes into hibernation for a millennium only to wake up in a galaxy dominated by the lizard race known as the Badoon. During his 1000 year nap, he developed formidable telekinetic powers though he does need a special pressure suit to keep his body from falling apart. He then began teaming up with other survivors of the Badoon invasion (including Yondu) to form the Guardians. A shame that this couldn’t really figure into this movie but maybe that’s just as well.
That’s a very cool set up for Guardians. I never heard of Vance Astro before. I love that origin story, it captures my imagination and takes me to this whole other world of possible story ideas. The more I hear about Yondu the more I can’t wait to learn more about him in the movie. Come to think of it, I hope introducing all these characters in the movie can work, it’s a huge challenge.
Oh, yeah, it’s a challenge. To this day, I am still amazed that the first X-Men movie worked as well as it did, despite its huge cast of characters. The trick is focus; zero in on a few important pieces on the board and make the rest of the characters present themselves in relation to those important pieces.
As to Vance Astro, he actually was a takeoff on the classic sci-fi character Buck Rogers, who also did a interstellar Rip Van Winkle routine to find himself in the 25th Century. His history has gotten very convoluted in recent years, as he went back in time to awaken the psychic power inside his younger self, who would go on to become the superhero Justice. I personally much prefer the original concept.
I enjoyed the first X-Men movie for what it was and Wolverine is great to build the franchise around. As the series moved forward, I thought many of the characters never reached their full potential or weren’t used as well as they could. I did have a blast with X-2, that’s my favorite of the first three.
X2 is good…but I’ve got a real soft spot for First Class myself. It was essentially a retooled James Bond film with great personal relationships taking center stage. It makes hope that they’ll get it right with Days of Future Past.
I plan on rewatching First Class next week, I liked Magneto a lot in it. To be honest, I’m not super pumped for Days of Future Past, the trailers aren’t doing it for me but I’ll watch it for sure.
Great article! I’ve been hearing more about this one, and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a risky move for Marvel, but if they can pull it off, I think this movie will be a fun blend of “The Avengers” and “Star Wars.” The concept definitely feels fresh, something we’ve never seen before.
Thanks so much! I’m also really looking forward to this too. I hope they can pull it off. I mean while DC is taking it’s time getting Wonder Woman and others to the big screen, Marvel is introducing us to Rocket Racoon and Groot, not exactly household names but maybe that’ll change come August? The concept is fresh, a little zany but it has some familiar actors that’ll hopefully make it inviting.
Hey, nobody outside diehard Tolkienites knew who Gollum was before the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Is it that out of the question that Groot or Rocket Raccoon could become household names?
I remember after LOTR movie, while exiting the theatre, some people were imitating Gollum’s “my precious line“. If fans leave Guardians mimicking “I Am Groot” that’ll be funny and cool. But I think Rocket Raccoon is more likely to be the fan fave.
Potential is there in both cases. But…assuming that the character is done well, I’d love for Groot to have the same kind of cultural cachet that Mongo from “Blazing Saddles” picked up.
Risky film to make but with a huge upside! The Guardians are a really cool set of comic characters and they have an even cooler history. I’m really hoping this works. I have faith in Marvel.
Well, honestly, it’s because Marvel hit upon a winning formula: gradually build things brick by brick, treat each movie as its own unique story while providing links back to stuff in the other movies, and focus on making sure that the quality is up to snuff. Even arguably the weakest of this bunch, “The Incredible Hulk”, managed to do better than, say, “Green Lantern” on this count.
And the really bad part? Given the recent reports of the whole Superman/Batman movie project, DC is about to do it again! I want to shake these people and say that not every superhero movie has to be “Watchmen”.
Thank you Ruth, much appreciated!! I believe Lee Pace auditioned for the lead role of Peter Quill at one point, as did a lot of hopeful actors. His lead villain role could be great too. Thanks again!
This is cool because I really knew next to nothing about this. My only knowledge of this is that the Raccoon was in Marvel vs. Capcom… haha. The cast is really good. Great rundown of this one.
Cool, I didn’t know Racoon was in Ultimate Marvel, I only played the regular MvsC3 which was really fun. Yeah, the cast is promising, hopefully it works out.
What a write-up, amazing job! I even learned a new thing or two from reading it. I was unaware that Cooper and the stunning Saldana would be on the cast. Just had seen pictures beforehand of Batista and Vin, but never looked into it. And Walking Dead’s Michael Rooker! Holy shit, it keeps getting better and better.
My knowledge on the Guardians is minor, as I am more of a DC guy when it comes to reading graphic novels or comics. Thus, I have only seen them in videogames or cartoons. I also read the wikipedia page ages ago, but yeah, that is as far as it goes. Excited as hell though.
I am really digging Rocket Raccoon, and hope he delivers the goods. Cooper should provide a good job handling his voice. As for Batista, he better step his game up, not big on the guy.
Hey thanks a lot! It will be so cool to see Michael Rooker as an alien dude in Guardians, I think his character will be pretty bad ass. Getting Cooper and Saldana is solid casting. I wonder if they will use Cooper’s natural voice or alter it for Rocket Raccoon.
When Batista got cast I wasn’t that excited, mainly because I didn’t know anything about him other than he’s a wrestler wanting to be an actor. I’m okay with it now, maybe he’ll surprise me.
Since Guardians got announced I’ve been trying to brush up a little on them but my knowledge is pretty minor too.
Thanks so much for checking out the article and commenting!
Ohh – this is great, thanks for the post! I hadn’t even heard that there was a new Marvel movie coming this year. Now I’m excited for Saldana and Vin Diesel 😀 I love the general feel of the Marvel universe films, so I’ll definitely check it out. 🙂
Thanks Elina! Yeah, Marvel hasn’t been promoting this new movie so far, hopefully that’ll change soon. I’m looking forward to Saldana’s bad-ass character. Vin Diesel could be great too, I’d like to see a trailer to get a better idea of his character. I have so much fun with Marvel films, I’m excited for this! 🙂
I have to say that I’ve been loving the overall feel of the Marvel Cinematic Universe myself. What I think is great about it is the fact that each film can and does stand on its own two feet yet all the pieces can connect up to a larger picture. Essentially, they have done on film what comics have been doing on paper for most of the last century. It is neither easy nor risk-free and I have to say that I’m glad for their success.
I also love the overall feel of MCU though to be honest not all of the movies are great. I totally agree how each film stands on its own and adds to the overall picture. I also like that each movie franchise has it’s own feel which keeps things from getting repetitive. What Marvel does well is embrace their comic book origins and created a universe where all their characters can coexist. They have taken risks like in casting and hiring certain directors, which in retrospect are no brainers but they weren’t at the time.
Great article! I’m super excited for this movie but I’m worried with the lack of trailers/teasers. For a movie coming out this year with a property that is virtually unknown to the general public, I think they are making a huge mistake with the lack of promotion and generating brand awareness. I cross my fingers that this doesn’t flop…
Thanks GothamRogue! This is one of my most anticipated movies of the year. I’m also worried there isn’t a teaser/trailer yet. When I tried to search for promotional cast photos for this article there was only one which I would consider “official” but even then the director said the look of the characters (I’m guessing the CGI characters) improved since then. Brand awareness and promotion would go a long to support this movie … I hope it doesn’t flop too. 🙂
I have to admit I was thinking this movie would be absolute shit as I’ve been reading about it over the last year or so. It sounded dreadful. But I am a big fan of Chris Pratt thanks to his stint on Park and Recreation. And I must say, now that I’ve seen the trailer, I couldn’t be more excited to this film. It looks really good! My only hope is that it’s really, really funny, and all the funny parts weren’t just put in the trailer with nothing good left for the film. Anyway, I can’t wait for this one.
I’m was cautiously optimistic but also prepared for this movie to bomb. Having watched the trailer, it takes away most of my doubt. This could be a good, fun, summer hit. I haven’t watched Park and Recreation, but Chris Pratt is a great fit for this character. I get the feeling that Rocket Racoon is their secret weapon, he’s going to be really funny which they haven’t shown much from him yet. I can’t wait for this one too.
When I first heard there was going to be a Guardians movie I was pretty excited to see Vance Astro on screen and wondered what form/costume he would be represented in. When the first casting releases were made and I saw Quill, I was totally confused. I’m a comic book reader from the 90’s and collected the entire Guardians of the Galaxy series. After I got out of collecting, these new Guardians came along.
I was a little disappointed at first, but the more I have read about this movie and the trailers have been aired, I’ve become pretty excited for it to hit the screen.
Great write-up. I appreciate finding out more about these Guardians. I’ll also be watching for any Easter Eggs that might reference the original group, just because I’m curious to see if they pay homage to their foundation.
When Marvel announced Guardians I was excited for a new franchise and also scratching my head. I had no idea who they were. I started picking up the recent Guardian comics to gear up for the movie but I never heard of Vance Astro until a commenter provided his back story. I’ll also watch for Easter Eggs. Knowing Marvel probably drop a reference to the original line up.
Good to hear the write up helped you get to know more about the new Guardians. I didn’t elaborate too much as I didn’t know how much back story of the characters would make it into movie and I tried to keep it short & sweet.
I saw the trailer in 3D at the theatres and it looks great! Can’t wait for the movie!
Good to see a lot more advertising for this movie lately. Marvel did a free preview screening of the first 17 mins at theatres across North America recently, hopefully good word of mouth will spread. Thanks!
Hey buddy, awesome post! I am currently reading the comic myself to prepare for the movie haha. I am curious, have you read the comic as well? Cause there are some missing members in the movie which is quite a surprise to me. But I guess they can’t introduce them all at one.
Cool! Hope you’re enjoying the comics and getting pumped up for the movie! I’ve been reading the current run of comics for the first 15 issues or so but once the story started crossing over with other Marvel series I lost track a bit. I’m not that familiar with the original members as they aren’t in the current line up though I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some easter eggs, references and possibly cameos in the movie. The sequel was already announced! Haha.
Very cool! I wish I had read this before I saw the movie, ahah. I just finished writing my review today, had a lot of fun w/ it but I still wouldn’t call it a spectacular movie or anything.
Sidekick Reviews 
Thanks for the rundown on the characters! It’s very interesting, and all these famous talents have gotten me intrigued as well.
Hi Halim. The characters look and sound interesting. I’m pretty impressed with all the famous actors too. Glad to hear this has gotten you intrigued about the movie.
Great description. I now know way more than I did before. 🙂
I will say . . . I’m not sure Marvel needs to do all that much marketing for this. Right now, everything they touch is gold for mass going audiences. I have a feeling this one gets plenty of turnout the first weekend. If it sucks, people will stop coming, but we’ll be curious to see whether or not it sucks. 🙂
Hello there! I agree that the Marvel brand is very bankable and there’s not much competition around it’s release date … unless you count TMNT. 🙂 Avengers had the hype and momentum of five films leading up to its release, it’ll be interesting to see how receptive fans will be to this new team without cameos from Iron Man or Thor etc. If this movie totally sucks, marketing won’t be able to save it. Marvel/Disney are thinking beyond the movie though … video games, merchandising, animated TV show etc it’ll be interesting how’ll they’ll develop this property.
Thanks so much for reading the post and I greatly appreciate you taking the time to comment! 🙂
Don’t agree about the marketing. ANYBODY can stumble at ANY time. Plus, this project is a complete unknown outside of comic circles with little to no guarantee of success. Having said all that, it’s a testament to their confidence and actual market position that they can go ahead with a project like this and nobody really questions the why.
In response, I’ll say this …
I don’t know a thing about it, outside of what I read in this article. Didn’t know who would be in the cast, save Del Toro (whom I only knew because of Thor), and I didn’t know any of the characters. I still know what the Guardians do, or for whom they do it.
Yet, even before I read this article, there was never any doubt I was going to see this movie, in the theater. Simply because it’s Marvel.
I suspect I’m not alone in that regard.
Having an established brand name certainly helps, no question. If you’ve got enough of a good track record, it makes people give the brand the benefit of the doubt when it comes to exotic experiments like this. BUT…it only takes a few high profile fiascos to completely ruin a rep to the point where you’re box office poison (see M. Night Shymalin, who went from “The Sixth Sense” to “The Last Airbender”). Thus, I’m concerned.
That’s the reason why I was a bit concerned when Marvel first announced Guardians of the Galaxy. Although one box office disaster won’t stop Marvel in it’s tracks, what if Guardians is a bomb, Avengers 2 doesn’t connect with audiences and Ant Man is a hot mess … it could tarnish their brand and we’ll get less risk taking.
What a great summary! I didn’t knowmuch about the film before bbut I do now. I’m actually really excited now!
Very cool, glad you liked the summary! When this movie was first announced I was surprised – I never heard of Guardians before; plus excited and a little wary because it possibly be a flop.
Brilliant article as I didn’t know anything about Guardians of the Galaxy apart from it being part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and that it was being released this year. Now I know why Batista is back in the WWE – looking to promote the film I guess.
…it sounds like a great story on paper – but aren’t they all. I’m fascinated to see how this turns out.
Hi Dan. I had to do a fair amount of searching to get the info, most of it is news to me too. Yeah, it’s likely more than coincidental timing that Batista is back in the WWE. I think he signed a short term contract to keep his options open if he gets more movie offers.
I’m fascinated to see how this turns out too considering this is an unknown, unproven property while Warner/DC comics is slowly getting their act together with Superman Vs Batman and eventually/maybe Justice League.
I personally would argue that DC is actually NOT getting its act together. If reports of the Superman/Batman movie are accurate, they’re about to bet a stack of chips on a real long shot. It’s more than just name brand that makes a movie succeed; it’s execution.
While I didn’t LOVE Man of Steel I’m looking forward to the follow up movie. I think it was overly ambitious to announce a 2015 release date at comic con last year, when they could have kept quiet on the date. I do hear you about that the delay to 2016 and script rewrites; they should have planned this all out years ago. Hopefully though, taking the extra time in development will help.
I am less optimistic, personally. A project like this CAN indeed pull itself up by its own bootstraps with the extra time. But I still question how serious they’re taking the overall situation. The litany of decisions before this shows a great deal of UNseriousness about how they may be handicapping the project. As such, they may well be using this extra time to buy them some breathing space to take the heat off their previous mistakes. But the final proof will be in the actual film.
I think you’re right that DC Comics needs to sort its step phase out quickly but there’s no denying that the work Nolan did with Batman was incredible. So they’ve got that in the locker while Marvel, in their release of so many movies, have a few duds (Thor, Hulk).
Nolan’s Batman films are fantastic, I wish there were more movies in that universe. Though not all of Marvel’s films are great, they do have a game plan for their universe which made a Guardians movie possible.
I’d like to think Chris Pratt got that body by simply stopping drinking haha like he said in an interview xD
Looking forward to it, really hope its not an epic fail!
Haha, something tells me he did a few stomach crunches too. 😉 He said in another interview that he gained weight for Delivery Man and continued gaining weight after shooting, reaching up to 295 lbs! He auditioned for Guardians before loosing any weight and still got the part haha. I’d be so disappointed if the movie’s an epic fail,
The potential for failure is there. If anything, this may be the riskiest project of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe thus far. Still, no risk, no reward.
Yup this is their riskiest project. What I like about Marvel is they do take calculated risks. I hope this movie pays off but like you said it could be a failure.
Its the wild card of 2014. Good? Bad? Nobody knows!
That’s what makes it so intriguing to me. Is it me or is Marvel keeping their cards unusually close to their chest so far?
Well if they don’t starting telling the general public this film exists I am not sure how much it will make 😦
Give us a teaser!
Believe it or not, when I was getting into comics, I actually DID hear about the Guardians of the Galaxy (albeit a different incarnation than this bunch) and I know about four of the key players here.
There is a reason why Gamora is the most dangerous woman in the universe…she’s the sole survivor of her race that Thanos saved from certain death when the rest of them were being wiped out. He did the genetic engineering and gave her the training that allowed her to become the “most dangerous woman in the universe”. Given Thanos popping up on the radar, it’d be hard to imagine SOME of this background not showing up.
Groot is actually older as a character than any of the others, going back to the original monster comics that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby did before revitalizing superheroes. Originally he was an alien invader who was taken down by a mild-mannered scientist who pegged his unlikely weakness. Beyond that, you know more than I do.
Drax the Destroyer, as originally conceived, was a normal human being killed by a random alien invader. He was raised by some cosmic entity or another (I think Chronus, but I couldn’t swear to it) for the sole purpose of destroying Thanos, hence the title “Destroyer”. I doubt that this will survive the movie revamp but we’ll see.
Ronan the Accuser was originally a Fantastic Four villain, part of the war-like race known as the Kree (Captain Mar-Vell’s race, for those of you keeping score at home). Accusers, for the Kree race, were sort of like intergalactic Judge Dredds: judge/jury/executioner in one badass package. Ronan’s title of being “The Accuser” is a sign of the Judge Dredd-esque rep that he acquired along the way. Do I even need to mention that he was something of a space Nazi?
I think this movie CAN succeed but they’ll have a lot of uphill sledding on their hands. Still, if they can do better than DC did with an established character like Green Lantern, well, weirder things have happened.
Awesome, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! It’s great to have all this info summarized and it sheds more light on these characters who have a fascinating history. I definitely learned a lot of cool stuff.
One of things about the current run of Guardians of the Galaxy is that it doesn’t delve into their back stories, except for the 0.1 issue on Peter Quill.
I’ve read some of the wikis but it’s a guessing game as to what aspects of a character’s background will be included, revamped or completely jettisoned in the movie. I also think it’s hard to imagine some of Gamora’s history with Thanos not showing up, considering he’s going to be a major player down the line.
The origins of Groot and Drax are also fascinating but my guess is that the movie won’t be touching upon this. As for Ronan, this is all news to me! I had no idea he’s originally a FF villain. I heard that Nebula is sort of like a space pirate so I’d imagine she’d be quite the match for this space Nazi. Hehe.
With all the characters and brand new universe in space, there’s a tonne of information to absorb and make sense of which makes Guardians a tougher movie to sell. I’ve read an interview from a Marvel exec and they’re basically using Green Lantern as a case of what not to do haha.
When it comes to backstory, it all comes back to whether it will help or hinder the story. I can easily see the creators taking the same approach as the creators of the best of the X-Men franchise (to wit, X1, X2, and First Class) did with their large cast’s background.
I’m with you on Drax and Groot, “that was another country” and all that. I am glad that Marvel execs are indeed looking at that catastrophe that was the Green Lantern movie (when you can smell the loser stink on it from the trailer alone, you know it’s going to be a bomb…which was true for me and this film). It actually had very similar themes, cast sizes, and story scope. Looking at where that misbegotten piece of filmmaking (which, if there is any justice in the universe, will go on to replace the Stallone version of “Judge Dredd” as shorthand for bad comic movies) went off the rails is an excellent place to start.
Got some info on Nebula as well, albeit a bit more sketchy than the rest of the players we’ve talked about thus far. “Space pirate” is a pretty descriptor for her, though I personally would characterize her as “Mystique in space” personality-wise. But the biggest kernel of info I have on this gal is that she always claimed to be (though it was never really confirmed) Thanos’ granddaughter. Again, I see as something that may be put into play in this film.
It’ll be interesting to see how well actress Karen Gillan plays a villainous Nebula. I’ve only seen her as The Doctor’s companion which is a very different role. I’ve never heard of Nebula before writing this article. I did come across some info that she’s connected to Thanos, though I didn’t hear about the grandaughter part, but that could very well be the case. In one comic storyline, she’s sort of the Achilles heel of Thanos.
Oh, one more thing…Yondu has been a part of every major incarnation of the Guardians up until recent times.
Cool I didn’t know that. I did see an early leaked photo of Michael Rooker as Yondu on set and he’s look very cool with blue skin and a mohawk.
That’s pretty much Yondu’s standard, established look. I wouldn’t necessarily say that he’s the Guardians’ “mascot” per se but he certainly is one of its most recognizable characters.
That reminds me…the original setup for Guardians of the Galaxy was actually pretty unique. Vance Astro, astronaut from Earth, goes into hibernation for a millennium only to wake up in a galaxy dominated by the lizard race known as the Badoon. During his 1000 year nap, he developed formidable telekinetic powers though he does need a special pressure suit to keep his body from falling apart. He then began teaming up with other survivors of the Badoon invasion (including Yondu) to form the Guardians. A shame that this couldn’t really figure into this movie but maybe that’s just as well.
That’s a very cool set up for Guardians. I never heard of Vance Astro before. I love that origin story, it captures my imagination and takes me to this whole other world of possible story ideas. The more I hear about Yondu the more I can’t wait to learn more about him in the movie. Come to think of it, I hope introducing all these characters in the movie can work, it’s a huge challenge.
Oh, yeah, it’s a challenge. To this day, I am still amazed that the first X-Men movie worked as well as it did, despite its huge cast of characters. The trick is focus; zero in on a few important pieces on the board and make the rest of the characters present themselves in relation to those important pieces.
As to Vance Astro, he actually was a takeoff on the classic sci-fi character Buck Rogers, who also did a interstellar Rip Van Winkle routine to find himself in the 25th Century. His history has gotten very convoluted in recent years, as he went back in time to awaken the psychic power inside his younger self, who would go on to become the superhero Justice. I personally much prefer the original concept.
I enjoyed the first X-Men movie for what it was and Wolverine is great to build the franchise around. As the series moved forward, I thought many of the characters never reached their full potential or weren’t used as well as they could. I did have a blast with X-2, that’s my favorite of the first three.
X2 is good…but I’ve got a real soft spot for First Class myself. It was essentially a retooled James Bond film with great personal relationships taking center stage. It makes hope that they’ll get it right with Days of Future Past.
I plan on rewatching First Class next week, I liked Magneto a lot in it. To be honest, I’m not super pumped for Days of Future Past, the trailers aren’t doing it for me but I’ll watch it for sure.
I have nominated you for the Sunshine Blog Award.
Wow, thank you so much for the nomination!
Great article! I’ve been hearing more about this one, and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a risky move for Marvel, but if they can pull it off, I think this movie will be a fun blend of “The Avengers” and “Star Wars.” The concept definitely feels fresh, something we’ve never seen before.
Thanks so much! I’m also really looking forward to this too. I hope they can pull it off. I mean while DC is taking it’s time getting Wonder Woman and others to the big screen, Marvel is introducing us to Rocket Racoon and Groot, not exactly household names but maybe that’ll change come August? The concept is fresh, a little zany but it has some familiar actors that’ll hopefully make it inviting.
Hey, nobody outside diehard Tolkienites knew who Gollum was before the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Is it that out of the question that Groot or Rocket Raccoon could become household names?
I remember after LOTR movie, while exiting the theatre, some people were imitating Gollum’s “my precious line“. If fans leave Guardians mimicking “I Am Groot” that’ll be funny and cool. But I think Rocket Raccoon is more likely to be the fan fave.
Potential is there in both cases. But…assuming that the character is done well, I’d love for Groot to have the same kind of cultural cachet that Mongo from “Blazing Saddles” picked up.
Risky film to make but with a huge upside! The Guardians are a really cool set of comic characters and they have an even cooler history. I’m really hoping this works. I have faith in Marvel.
Great article!
Well, honestly, it’s because Marvel hit upon a winning formula: gradually build things brick by brick, treat each movie as its own unique story while providing links back to stuff in the other movies, and focus on making sure that the quality is up to snuff. Even arguably the weakest of this bunch, “The Incredible Hulk”, managed to do better than, say, “Green Lantern” on this count.
You’re right. The Green lantern would have worked but it piled waaay to much into one movie and it didn’t do any of it particularly well.
And the really bad part? Given the recent reports of the whole Superman/Batman movie project, DC is about to do it again! I want to shake these people and say that not every superhero movie has to be “Watchmen”.
I’m also hoping this risky move works. Once we get the trailer we’ll get a better idea. Thanks so much for checking out the article!
Very educational post! I’m mostly curious about Lee Pace here, though it’s not on my most-anticipated list yet.
P.S. I reddited your post: http://www.reddit.com/r/moviecritic/comments/1wetty/guardians_of_the_galaxy_everything_you_need_to/
Thank you Ruth, much appreciated!! I believe Lee Pace auditioned for the lead role of Peter Quill at one point, as did a lot of hopeful actors. His lead villain role could be great too. Thanks again!
Lee Pace is certainly making some exciting career decisions.
This is cool because I really knew next to nothing about this. My only knowledge of this is that the Raccoon was in Marvel vs. Capcom… haha. The cast is really good. Great rundown of this one.
Cool, I didn’t know Racoon was in Ultimate Marvel, I only played the regular MvsC3 which was really fun. Yeah, the cast is promising, hopefully it works out.
What a write-up, amazing job! I even learned a new thing or two from reading it. I was unaware that Cooper and the stunning Saldana would be on the cast. Just had seen pictures beforehand of Batista and Vin, but never looked into it. And Walking Dead’s Michael Rooker! Holy shit, it keeps getting better and better.
My knowledge on the Guardians is minor, as I am more of a DC guy when it comes to reading graphic novels or comics. Thus, I have only seen them in videogames or cartoons. I also read the wikipedia page ages ago, but yeah, that is as far as it goes. Excited as hell though.
I am really digging Rocket Raccoon, and hope he delivers the goods. Cooper should provide a good job handling his voice. As for Batista, he better step his game up, not big on the guy.
Hey thanks a lot! It will be so cool to see Michael Rooker as an alien dude in Guardians, I think his character will be pretty bad ass. Getting Cooper and Saldana is solid casting. I wonder if they will use Cooper’s natural voice or alter it for Rocket Raccoon.
When Batista got cast I wasn’t that excited, mainly because I didn’t know anything about him other than he’s a wrestler wanting to be an actor. I’m okay with it now, maybe he’ll surprise me.
Since Guardians got announced I’ve been trying to brush up a little on them but my knowledge is pretty minor too.
Thanks so much for checking out the article and commenting!
Ohh – this is great, thanks for the post! I hadn’t even heard that there was a new Marvel movie coming this year. Now I’m excited for Saldana and Vin Diesel 😀 I love the general feel of the Marvel universe films, so I’ll definitely check it out. 🙂
Thanks Elina! Yeah, Marvel hasn’t been promoting this new movie so far, hopefully that’ll change soon. I’m looking forward to Saldana’s bad-ass character. Vin Diesel could be great too, I’d like to see a trailer to get a better idea of his character. I have so much fun with Marvel films, I’m excited for this! 🙂
I have to say that I’ve been loving the overall feel of the Marvel Cinematic Universe myself. What I think is great about it is the fact that each film can and does stand on its own two feet yet all the pieces can connect up to a larger picture. Essentially, they have done on film what comics have been doing on paper for most of the last century. It is neither easy nor risk-free and I have to say that I’m glad for their success.
I also love the overall feel of MCU though to be honest not all of the movies are great. I totally agree how each film stands on its own and adds to the overall picture. I also like that each movie franchise has it’s own feel which keeps things from getting repetitive. What Marvel does well is embrace their comic book origins and created a universe where all their characters can coexist. They have taken risks like in casting and hiring certain directors, which in retrospect are no brainers but they weren’t at the time.
Excellent post. I am so pumped for this film!
I’m pumped for Guardians too! Thank you!
Great article! I’m super excited for this movie but I’m worried with the lack of trailers/teasers. For a movie coming out this year with a property that is virtually unknown to the general public, I think they are making a huge mistake with the lack of promotion and generating brand awareness. I cross my fingers that this doesn’t flop…
Thanks GothamRogue! This is one of my most anticipated movies of the year. I’m also worried there isn’t a teaser/trailer yet. When I tried to search for promotional cast photos for this article there was only one which I would consider “official” but even then the director said the look of the characters (I’m guessing the CGI characters) improved since then. Brand awareness and promotion would go a long to support this movie … I hope it doesn’t flop too. 🙂
I’m lovin’ this flick already!
The cast looks solid, the synopsis has potential … I hope I love it! Btw, great article on Jesse Eisenberg/Lex Luthor the other day. 🙂
I have to admit I was thinking this movie would be absolute shit as I’ve been reading about it over the last year or so. It sounded dreadful. But I am a big fan of Chris Pratt thanks to his stint on Park and Recreation. And I must say, now that I’ve seen the trailer, I couldn’t be more excited to this film. It looks really good! My only hope is that it’s really, really funny, and all the funny parts weren’t just put in the trailer with nothing good left for the film. Anyway, I can’t wait for this one.
I’m was cautiously optimistic but also prepared for this movie to bomb. Having watched the trailer, it takes away most of my doubt. This could be a good, fun, summer hit. I haven’t watched Park and Recreation, but Chris Pratt is a great fit for this character. I get the feeling that Rocket Racoon is their secret weapon, he’s going to be really funny which they haven’t shown much from him yet. I can’t wait for this one too.
When I first heard there was going to be a Guardians movie I was pretty excited to see Vance Astro on screen and wondered what form/costume he would be represented in. When the first casting releases were made and I saw Quill, I was totally confused. I’m a comic book reader from the 90’s and collected the entire Guardians of the Galaxy series. After I got out of collecting, these new Guardians came along.
I was a little disappointed at first, but the more I have read about this movie and the trailers have been aired, I’ve become pretty excited for it to hit the screen.
Great write-up. I appreciate finding out more about these Guardians. I’ll also be watching for any Easter Eggs that might reference the original group, just because I’m curious to see if they pay homage to their foundation.
When Marvel announced Guardians I was excited for a new franchise and also scratching my head. I had no idea who they were. I started picking up the recent Guardian comics to gear up for the movie but I never heard of Vance Astro until a commenter provided his back story. I’ll also watch for Easter Eggs. Knowing Marvel probably drop a reference to the original line up.
Good to hear the write up helped you get to know more about the new Guardians. I didn’t elaborate too much as I didn’t know how much back story of the characters would make it into movie and I tried to keep it short & sweet.
I saw the trailer in 3D at the theatres and it looks great! Can’t wait for the movie!
Welcome to the blog and thanks for commenting!
Whoa! Awesome post. Now I am definitely up to speed on this movie. So stoked for it. Thanks!
Good to see a lot more advertising for this movie lately. Marvel did a free preview screening of the first 17 mins at theatres across North America recently, hopefully good word of mouth will spread. Thanks!
Hey buddy, awesome post! I am currently reading the comic myself to prepare for the movie haha. I am curious, have you read the comic as well? Cause there are some missing members in the movie which is quite a surprise to me. But I guess they can’t introduce them all at one.
Cool! Hope you’re enjoying the comics and getting pumped up for the movie! I’ve been reading the current run of comics for the first 15 issues or so but once the story started crossing over with other Marvel series I lost track a bit. I’m not that familiar with the original members as they aren’t in the current line up though I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some easter eggs, references and possibly cameos in the movie. The sequel was already announced! Haha.
Very cool! I wish I had read this before I saw the movie, ahah. I just finished writing my review today, had a lot of fun w/ it but I still wouldn’t call it a spectacular movie or anything.
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