Guardians of the Galaxy (film)

Guardians of the Galaxy is upcoming film made by Marvel Studios and will be the tenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It follows a group of criminals who must save the galaxy from an evil enemy.

Plot
From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team — the Guardians of the Galaxy. 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 Peter 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.

Cast

 * Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord
 * Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer
 * Vin Diesel as Groot
 * Bradley Cooper as Rocket
 * Zoe Saldana as Gamora
 * Michael Rooker as Yondu Udonta
 * Benicio del Toro as Taneleer Tivan/The Collector
 * Ophelia Lovibond as Carina
 * Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser
 * Djimon Hounsou as Korath the Pursuer
 * Josh Brolin as Thanos
 * Enzo Cilenti as a to-be-confirmed character
 * Glenn Close as Irani Rael
 * John C. Reilly as Rhomann Dey
 * Karen Gillan as Nebula
 * Peter Serafinowicz as Officer Saal
 * Sean Gunn as Kraglin
 * Gregg Henry as a to-be-confirmed character
 * Stephen Blackehart as a to-be-confirmed character
 * Marama Corlett as a to-be-confirmed character
 * Alexis Rodney as a to-be-confirmed character
 * Melia Kreiling as Bereet
 * Spencer Wilding as Mean Guard
 * Lloyd Kaufman will have a cameo in the film
 * Laura Haddock as Meredith Quill
 * Janis Ahern as Peter Quill's grandmother
 * Marianna Dean as Peter Quill's aunt
 * Lindsay Morton as Meredith's best friend
 * Alexis Denisof as The Other
 * James Gunn as Maskless Sakaaran
 * Nathan Fillion as Monstrous Inmate
 * Rob Zombie as Ravager Navigator Voice
 * Fred as Cosmo
 * To-be-confirmed actor as Howard the Duck
 * Stan Lee as Xandarian Ladies Man

Continuity and References to the Marvel Cinematic Universe

 * Thanos appears. He first appeared in mid-credits scene in The Avengers.
 * The Other appears. He first appeared in The Avengers.
 * Taneleer Tivan/The Collector and Carina appear. They first appeared in mid-credits scene in Thor: The Dark World.
 * The Orb is another Infinity Stone.
 * Cosmo and Howard the Duck are introduced.
 * One Chitauri and one Dark Elf appear in Taneleer Tivan's chambers.
 * S.H.I.E.L.D. appears.
 * Large part of score from the movie named "The Final Battle Begins" is just modified "The Avengers Theme" from The Avengers.

Production
The film was shot in the UK.

Trivia

 * The first non-Avengers Marvel property developed by Walt Disney Pictures.
 * Although the Guardians of the Galaxy were created way back in 1969 by Arnold Drake and Gene Colan, the movie will be primarily focused on the 2008 reinvention of the team by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.
 * Joel Edgerton, Eddie Redmayne, Jensen Ackles, Lee Pace, Wes Bentley, Jack Huston, Cam Gigandet, Sullivan Stapleton, Logan Marshall-Green, Garrett Hedlund, Chris Lowell, James Marsden, Jim Sturgess, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Aaron Paul, Michael Rosenbaum and John Krasinski auditioned and screen tested for the role of Peter Quill/ Star Lord. Pace was cast as Ronan the Accuser.
 * The Guardians of the Galaxy is primarily based on the 2008 comic team (Star-Lord, Gamora, Nova, Drax, Rocket Raccoon and Groot), but features Yondu, a member of the original 1969 comic team.
 * Olivia Wilde turned down the role of Gamora, while Gina Carano, Rachel Nichols and Adrianne Palicki auditioned before the role went to Zoe Saldana.
 * According to producer Victoria Alonso, Rocket Raccoon and Groot will be created through a mix of motion-capture and rotomation VFX.
 * Djimon Hounsou took the role of Korath for the sake of his son: "I have a son who loves superheroes from Spider-Man to Iron Man to Batman. One day he looks at me and says 'Dad, I want to be light-skinned so I could be Spider-Man. Spider-Man has light skin.' That was sort of a shock."
 * Bradley Cooper cited Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci's character in Goodfellas (1990)) as an influence on Rocket Racoon's voice.
 * Iron Man was planned to have a cameo role in this film (in homage to his being the Guardians' latest member in the comics), but this was scrapped when Robert Downey Jr. said he may not reprise his role as Tony Stark in any non-Avengers film.
 * To prepare for the role of Nebula, Karen Gillan shaved her head.
 * In the unreleased trailer shown at the 2013 Comic-Con and D23 Expo, Peter Quill giving the finger to the Nova Corps officers was not blurred and did not have the "Obscene Gesture Alert" graphic. This was intentionally added in the official trailer for general audiences.
 * According to the filmmakers, Rocket Raccoon in this film is a unique product of experimentation: "He's a little animal that was taken and experimented on and pulled apart and put back together again and implanted with cybernetics and he's half-machine and half-raccoon. And he's a gnarled, miserable, angry creature because there's nothing else like him. And that's something not easy to be."
 * Director James Gunn cites "Iron Man" as an influence on the film: "we are starting Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is Marvel Cosmic. And we're doing exactly what they did with the first Iron Man film."
 * When attending the 18th Nantucket Film Festival, Glenn Close stated that she only agreed to star in the film since "it will then afford me to go do the other kind of movies that I really love". However, she followed it up by saying; "And hopefully I will have a great time. It'll be a new experience for me, but practically speaking it will mean that I can do those smaller movies and it'll be okay."
 * According to Kevin Feige, Peter Quill left earth in the mid-80's but by the beginning of the film he's "very much a citizen of the universe", Gamora is initially introduced as a villain working with Ronan and Nebula whilst being associated with Thanos and has a reputation as the deadliest woman in the galaxy, Drax is on a hunt to kill Ronan because of a past tragedy, Rocket Raccoon has been genetically and mechanically altered due to being an experiment from one part of the galaxy and Groot is a species that happens to look like trees and is somewhat communicative if one can understand the different inflections in the way he says "I am Groot".
 * Regarding the villains, Kevin Feige stated that Ronan the Accuser is intended to be the main villain of the film yet Thanos is lurking above it all, also revealing that the audience will learn more of him beyond his brief appearance/smirk at the end of The Avengers.
 * Kevin stated the movie won't exactly reveal what year or month it takes place in relation to the other Phase Two films but it is definitely taking place around the same time.
 * James Gunn has stated on his Facebook page that unlike most films, Tyler Bates would write some of the score so the director could film to the music.
 * Adam Sandler, David Tennant, Sharlto Copley, Jim Carrey and H. Jon Benjamin were amongst the actors considered to voice Rocket Raccoon.
 * Director James Gunn cites Iron Man (2008) as an influence on the film: "we are starting Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is Marvel Cosmic. And we're doing exactly what they did with the first Iron Man film."
 * Glenn Howerton auditioned for the role of Star-Lord.
 * When Karen Gillan was announced to star in the film. It was rumored that was she was going to play Angela, a sword wielding bounty hunter from the "Guardians of the Galaxy" comic books. But the Scottish actress was cast in the role of the brutal space pirate Nebula and shaved off her hair for the role.
 * Kevin Fiege has revealed that one of the Infinity Stones will be revealed in the film.
 * Chris Pratt revealed that he signed a multi-picture deal with Marvel Studios to portray Star-Lord in future installements.
 * Benicio Del Toro's uncredited cameo as The Collector in "Thor: The Dark World" was written to set the stage for the film.
 * The Guardians of the Galaxy is primarily based on the 2008 comic team (Star-Lord, Gamora, Nova, Drax, Rocket Raccoon and Groot), but features Yondu, a member of the original 1969 comic team.
 * Chris Pratt went on a very strict training regimen and diet for 6 months and dropped another 60 pounds eventually getting a six pack for his shirtless scenes. Chris Pratt said that it was a lot of hard work, almost 'torturous', but when he was filming his shirtless scenes and saw the playback on the monitor, he felt the effort was well worth it and he was "extremely excited to see the best possible physical version of himself".
 * Benicio Del Toro described the Collector as "Liberace in outer space."
 * James Gunn's brother Sean Gunn was an acting double for Rocket Raccoon during filming.
 * Adam Warlock was rumored to appear in this film as he featured as he was featured in the screenplay as a cameo at the end of the film. This idea was cut from the script to add in a scene to set up the following Marvel film.
 * Isaiah Mustafa, Brian Patrick Wade and Jason Momoa were considered for the role of Drax the Destroyer.
 * The Collector's residence in the film is the space station Knowhere. In the comics, Knowhere is the base of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
 * According to producer Victoria Alonso, Rocket Raccoon and Groot will be created through a mix of motion-capture and rotomation VFX.
 * According to James Gunn, Star-Lord's ship the Milano is based on a hot rod: "Its environment is reminiscent of Earth and has a tangible quality - mechanical with chrome and leather and a muscle-car look."
 * When attending the 18th Nantucket Film Festival, Glenn Close stated that she only agreed to star in the film since "it will then afford me to go do the other kind of movies that I really love". However, she followed it up by saying; "And hopefully I will have a great time. It'll be a new experience for me, but practically speaking it will mean that I can do those smaller movies and it'll be okay."
 * According to James Gunn, Ronan's ship the Dark Aster is designed after a mausoleum: "It's minimal and brutal, a stark gray colorless world devoid of any set dressing whatsoever, and relying purely on its heavy concrete-like architecture to convey its tone and function."
 * This film identifies the Collector's Assistant (Ophelia Lovibond) as his daughter Carina Walters.
 * Jason Momoa auditioned and was offered the role of Drax the Destroyer but decided to turn down the role because he didn't want himself to be pigeonholed as a brute by the audience (having played several action roles) and to free himself up to direct Road to Paloma. This in turn allowed Dave Bautista to step in his place.
 * The Nova Corps world Xandar is based mainly on the designs of modern architect Santiago Calatrava.
 * Chris Pratt read for the lead role of Captain James T. Kirk in 'J.J Abrams' "Star Trek (2009)", which went to Chris Pine. Zoe Saldana (Gamora) played Nyota Uhura  and Chris Hemsworth played George Kirk in J.J Abrams' "Star Trek".
 * In the film, Ronan the Accuser is an admiral serving under Thanos. This combines his classic Marvel comics portrayal (a top-ranking military governor) with his Marvel Ultimate comics portrayal (an ally of Thanos).
 * In this film, Peter Quill was a former jet pilot who left Earth in the 1980s to become Star-Lord. This backstory was taken from another Guardian, Major Victory (Vance Astrovik).
 * James Gunn has confirmed that Thanos will be shot via motion capture.