Guardians of the Galaxy (film)

Guardians of the Galaxy is an upcoming American science-fiction superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is intended to be the tenth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film will be directed by James Gunn, with the screenplay written by Nicole Perlman, Chris McCoy, and Gunn. Chris Pratt, Dave Batista, Zoe Saldana, Michael Rooker, Lee Pace and Ophelia Lovibond are set to star. Filming was scheduled to begin in June 2013 at Shepperton Studios in London, England. The film is scheduled to be released on August 1, 2014, and will be released in 3D.

Premise
In space, an American pilot and a group of futuristic ex-cons go on the run with a highly coveted object.

Cast

 * Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord : Deadline.com describes the role as "the Guardians' leader, who is the offspring of a human mother and an alien father". Gunn explained that 80 to 100 actors auditioned, and that it was Pratt's "very particular" take on the character that won him the role.
 * Dave Batista as Drax the Destroyer : According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Drax is a human resurrected as a green warrior with the sole purpose of killing Thanos".
 * Zoe Saldana as Gamora : A green skinned humanoid who according to The Hollywood Reporter "...is the last of a species that was exterminated by a race known as the Badoon. She also happens to be a skilled assassin." Saldana said that she would become Gamora through make-up rather than CGI or performance capture. On taking the role, Saldana said, "I was just excited to be asked to join by James Gunn and to also play someone green. I've been blue before [in Avatar]."
 * Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon: A genetically engineered raccoon who is an expert marksman and master tactician. Gunn worked with live raccoons to get the correct feel for the character and to make sure the CGI raccoon used was "not a cartoon character," saying "it's not Bugs Bunny in the middle of The Avengers, it’s a real, little, somewhat mangled beast that’s alone. There’s no one else in the universe quite like him, he’s been created by these guys to be a mean-ass fighting machine."
 * Vin Diesel as Groot: A hyper-intelligent tree-like creature that can absorb wood to gain strength and recover from injuries as well as control trees. The character will be voiced and motion captured by Diesel himself.
 * Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser. Pace originally auditioned for Star-Lord
 * Michael Rooker as Yondu
 * John C. Reilly as Rhomann Dey: The leader of Nova Corps
 * Karen Gillan as Nebula
 * Djimon Hounsou as Korath: Hounsou took the role because of his son, stating "I wanna begin saying a story about my son. I have a four-year old son who loves superheroes from Spider-Man to Iron Man to Batman. He’s got all the costumes. 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. This is why I am excited to be a part of the Marvel Universe, so I could be hopefully provide that diversity in the role of the superhero."
 * Benicio del Toro as The Collector
 * Glenn Close as Nova Prime: A leadership role within the Nova Corps.

Ophelia Lovibond and Gregg Henry have been cast in unspecified roles. Lloyd Kaufman will have a cameo in the film. Peter Serafinowicz will play a Nova Corps officer.

Development
Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige first mentioned Guardians of the Galaxy as a potential film during an interview at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International, stating, "There are some obscure titles, too, like Guardians of the Galaxy. I think they've been revamped recently in a fun way in the book." In a September 2011 issue of Entertainment Weekly, Feige reiterated that sentiment, going on to say, "There's an opportunity to do a big space epic, which Thor sort of hints at, in the cosmic side of the [Marvel] universe." In June 2012 Marvel filed eleven trademark applications for Guardians of the Galaxy, covering a variety of consumer products, from video games to cosmetics. This was shortly followed by rumors that the film had been greenlit, and would involve the supervillain Thanos as a potential lead-in to an Avengers sequel. Variety chimed in, stating that a script for the film, which the studio was high on, had been written by Nicole Perlman.

The film was officially announced as being in active development at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International Marvel Studios panel by Feige, with an intended release date of August 1, 2014. He stated that the film's titular team would consist of the characters Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Groot, and Rocket Raccoon; while two pieces of concept art were displayed, one of Rocket Raccoon, and one featuring the full team. In August 2012 Marvel Studios hired writer Chris McCoy to rewrite Perlman's script. Later that month James Gunn entered talks to direct the film, beating out other contenders, including Peyton Reed and the duo Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden. The Avengers director Joss Whedon, who signed a deal to creatively consult on all of the films leading into The Avengers sequel, including Guardians of the Galaxy, was enthusiastic about the selection of Gunn to direct, saying "James [Gunn] is what makes me think it will work... He is so off the wall, and so crazy, but so smart, such a craftsman and he builds from his heart. He loves the raccoon. Needs the raccoon... He has a very twisted take on it, but it all comes from a real love for the material. It's going to be hard for [the human characters] to keep up."

Pre-production
On September 18, 2012, Gunn confirmed in a post on his official Facebook page that he had signed on to direct the film and rewrite the script. In November, it was reported that Joel Edgerton, Jack Huston, Jim Sturgess, Lee Pace and Eddie Redmayne signed deals to test for the role of Peter Quill / Star-Lord. A week later Pace confirmed that he was auditioning for the role. Other actors who were reportedly considered for the role including Thor: The Dark World ' s Zachary Levi, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Michael Rosenbaum. In February 2013, Chris Pratt was cast in the role.

In January 2013, it was reported that filming would take place at Shepperton Studios in London, England, and Marvel Studios announced that the film would be released in 3D. Victoria Alonso, an executive producer on the film, said that filming would begin in June. She also said that both Rocket Raccoon and Groot would be created through a combination of CGI and motion capture, going on to say that "You can’t do any motion capture with a raccoon – they won’t let you put the suit on [laughs]. But we will do rotomation, probably, for some of the behavior... we definitely will have performers to emulate what James Gunn will lead to be, the behavior and the performance. He’s very clear on where he wants to take the characters." In an interview published in a March 2013 issue of SFX, Kevin Feige discussed Guardians of the Galaxy in relation to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "It’s much more of a standalone film," said Feige. "It takes place in the same universe. And when we’ve been on the other side of that universe in other movies, you might see those characteristics in Guardians, but the Avengers are not involved with what’s happening out there at this time." Feige also stated that 95% of the film would take place in space. In mid-March, Dave Bautista was signed to play Drax the Destroyer. Other actors who had been considered for the role included Isaiah Mustafa, Brian Patrick Wade and Jason Momoa. A week later it was reported that sculptor Brian Muir, who sculpted Darth Vader's mask for the Star Wars films, was working on the film.

In April 2013, Zoe Saldana entered into negotiations to star as Gamora in the film. A few weeks later, Michael Rooker joined the film's cast, as Yondu. Later in the month, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Saldana would star in the film, and reported that Ophelia Lovibond had been cast in a supporting role. The next day, it was reported that Lee Pace was in final negotiations to play the villain of the film. In May, HitFix reported that Marvel had offered John C. Reilly the role of Rhomann Dey, a character who the site described as a "human agent who serves as a go-between, keeping the Guardians in line and reporting to S.H.I.E.L.D. about their activities." The site also reported that the filmmakers were looking at actors, including Hugh Laurie, Alan Rickman, and Ken Watanabe, for another role, and that Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely were polishing the script. A few days later, Glenn Close was cast as the head of the Nova Corps in the film, followed shortly after by the casting of Karen Gillan as the film's lead female villain. In June 2013, it was reported that Benicio del Toro was cast in the film. Later in the month, Deadline.com confirmed that Reilly had been cast as Rhomann Dey.

Filming
Filming began on July 6, 2013 under the supposed working title of "Full Tilt". On July 20, 2013, James Gunn and the film's cast flew from London to attend the San Diego Comic-Con International, where it was revealed that Lee Pace would play Ronan the Accuser, Karen Gillan would be Nebula, Benicio del Toro as The Collector, and that Djimon Hounsou had been cast as Korath the Pursuer. It was later revealed that Glenn Close would play Nova Prime. Also at San Diego Comic-Con, Kevin Feige stated that Thanos would be a part of the film as the "mastermind". On August 11 2013, filming began at London's Millennium Bridge. On the same day, Deadline.com reported that Vin Diesel is in talks to voice Groot, after being approached in early July by Marvel for a role in one of their films. On August 22, 2013, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Marvel Studios is in talks with Bradley Cooper to voice Rocket Raccoon. On August 27, 2013, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Diesel stated that he was originally in talks to star in a new Phase 3 Marvel film, but after hearing fan reaction at Comic-Con, Marvel presented him with the opportunity to voice Groot, as well as provide the motion capture for the character. On August 30, 2013, Marvel officially confirmed Cooper as the voice of Rocket Raccoon. On September 3, Gunn tweeted that 66.3% of filming has been completed. On September 5, 2013, Diesel confirmed in a interview with Maria Menounos on her YouTube channel that he's voicing Groot.

Music
In August 2013, Gunn posted on this Facebook page that Tyler Bates would be composing the film's score. Gunn stated that Bates will write some of the score first so that he can film to the music, opposed to scoring to the film.

Marketing
In July 2013, producer Kevin Feige, director James Gunn, and cast members Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, Dave Bautista, Benicio Del Toro, Lee Pace and Djimon Hounsou held a panel at 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International and presented footage from the film. In August, Feige presented the same footage at Disney's D23 Expo. Also in August, Disney partnered with Mad Engine, C-Life and New Era to produce merchandise for the film. Mad Engine and C-Life were partnered as the core apparel outfitters, producing a line of t-shirts and fleece jackets, while New Era will produce headwear and hats. The companies were joined by Hasbro, Disguise, and Sideshow Collectibles, who will produce toys, costumes and collectibles for the film.