Up until recently, we really haven’t had that many images of the gang from Guardians Of The Galaxy. Which isn’t surprising given that two of them are entirely CGI and the film itself requires a lot of effects work. But as the release date creeps closer, the usual Marvel PR campaign is gearing up, with images of the merchandise and character toys and, today, some fresh images of the team via USA Today.
Guardians is a gamble for Marvel – a far lesser known comic book, it’s also a weirder concept that even** Iron Man** or Thor and mashes up space opera with buddy comedy and a group mission movie. We’re introduced to Peter Quill (who would rather everyone called him Star-Lord), played by Chris Pratt, taken from Earth at age nine and in possession of a mysterious mcguffin orb. He’s grown up into a cheeky, daring adult who pilots a ship called the Milano. In a prison, he meets an unusual suspects line-up of aliens including Gamora (Zoe Saldana), a green-skinned assassin, Drax The Destroyer (Dave Bautista), a hulking warrior, talking tree Groot (Vin Diesel) and gruff warrior Rocket Racoon (Bradley Cooper).
We now have a little more information on the storyline too, with the characters breaking out to head to Knowhere (described as the severed head of a celestial being that has been turned into a hangout) and the trouble they’ll have with The Collector (Benicio del Toro), Nebula (Karen Gillan) and Ronan The Accuser (Lee Pace), who are all after Quill’s mysterious object.
“There's a whole lot to this movie – it's not a stage play," Pratt tells USA Today. "You couldn't make **Guardians Of The Galaxy **the play and put it on Broadway. It really wouldn't work.” As for Quill, he sounds like the perfect character to suit Pratt’s style. “Being stuck in space with no accountability makes for a strange combination of youthful vibrancy and cluelessness in a childlike man," he says. "He does some things that most people wouldn't get away with. But part of his arc is being willing to essentially sacrifice himself for the greater good of other people."
The first trailer for the film is due to hit online late tomorrow after it premieres on US talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live. We’re definitely ready to see more of this one. As for the film itself, it lands in the UK on August 1.