As Iron Man 3 continues to bring in the bucks, and the prospect of not only another Tony Stark venture, but a second Avengers movie as well, (not to mention Spiderman), Marvel seems to have found it’s mojo in the box office.
So, when they announced that Guardians of the Galaxy was to become a feature film, there were a lot of skeptics.
Now, I’m a comic book fan, but I had never heard of Guardians of the Galaxy. It is an obscure title, after all, in the Marvel universe. They and Disney must have realized the risk of producing such a film, because over the last few weeks, the emerging cast has surely whetted the appetites of many a movie goer.
So, a little bit of history is in order here. Guardians of the Galaxy first appeared in the partial reprint title Marvel Super-Heroes with issue #18, in January of 1969. They appeared sporadically in several Marvel titles over the years, in each case, other heroes such as Captain America, the Thing, and the Defenders aid them in their war against the alien Badoon. The Guardians were also featured in Marvel Presents #3–12, from February 1976 to August 1977.
There were a series of appearances in Thor, The Avengers, and other titles. A spin-off four-issue miniseries, Galactic Guardians (July–October 1994), followed.
In 2008, the team was relaunched. They were cancelled in 2010.
Producer Kevin Feige first hinted at a Guardians of the Galaxy film in 2010. Marvel Studios announced that the film was in active development at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2012. James Gunn entered negotiations to write and direct the film that August. In February 2013, Chris Pratt was hired to play Star-Lord, and the supporting cast was filled out over the next few months. Every new cast announcement was bigger than the last, with Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Michael Rooker, Lee Pace, Ophelia Lovibond, and, most amazingly, Glenn Close, Karen Gillan and Benicio del Toro, who was just announced!
Filming is scheduled to begin in June 2013 at Shepperton Studios in London, England. The film is scheduled to be released on August 1, 2014.
When this crew hits the Comic Con in July, it’s a safe bet they are going to be big!