Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy (reversely referred to as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1) is a 2014 American 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 the 10th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Directed by James Gunn, who wrote the screenplay with Nicole Perlman, it features an ensemble cast including Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan as the titular Guardian, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper. Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, and Benicio del Toro. In the film, Peter Quill and a group of outlaws go on the run after stealing a powerful artifact.
Perlman began work on the screenplay in 2009. Producer Kevin Feige first publicly mentioned Guardians of the Galaxy as a potential film in 2010, and Marvel Studios announced it was in active development at the July 2012 San Diego Comic-Con. Gunn was hired to write and direct the film that September. In February 2013, Pratt was hired to play Peter Quill / Star-Lord, and supporting cast members were later confirmed. Principal photography began in July 2013 at Shepparton Studios in England, with filming continuing in London before wrapping in October 2013. In addition to an original score by Tyler Bates, the soundtrack includes several popular songs from the 1960s and 1970s, selected by the singer. Post-production was completed on July 7, 2014.
Guardians of the Galaxy premiered on July 21, 2014 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood, Los Angeles, and was released theatrically in the United States on August 1 as part of the second installment of the MCU. It was a critical and commercial success, grossing $773.3 million worldwide and becoming the third-highest-grossing film of 2014. It was praised for its screenplay, direction, acting, humor, soundtrack, visual effects and action sequences. It was nominated for two awards at the 87th Academy Awards, and received numerous other accolades. Two sequels were released: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).

Details

In 1988, after the death of his mother, a young Peter Quill is abducted from Earth by the Ravagers, a group of alien thieves and smugglers led by Yondu Udonta. In 2014, on the abandoned planet Morag, Quill steals a mystical orb, but is attacked by the forces of the fanatical Kree rebel Ronan the Accuser, led by Korath. Although Quill escapes with the orb, Yondu discovers his theft and issues a reward for his capture, while Ronan sends the assassin Gamora after the orb.
When Quill tries to sell the Orb in Xandar, the capital of the Nova Empire, Gamora ambushes him and steals it. A fight ensues, drawn between a pair of bounty hunters: the genetically and cybernetically modified raccoon Rocket and the tree-like humanoid Groot. Nova Corps officers capture the four, holding them in Kiln Prison. A prisoner there, Drax the Destroyer, tries to kill Gamora because of her association with Ronan, who killed his wife and daughter. Quill convinces Drax that Gamora can bring Ronan to her, though Gamora reveals that she has betrayed Ronan, unwilling to let him use the orb’s power. Gamora learns that the Collector intends to sell the orb to Tanelli’s Tivan, Quill, Rocket, Groot and Drax work with Quill to escape Kiln on the Milano on Quill’s ship.
Ronan meets with Gamora’s adoptive father Thanos to discuss her betrayal. Quill’s team escapes to Nowhere, a remote lawless outpost in space built on the giant severed head of a Celestial. A drunken Drax summons Ronan while the rest of the group meets up with Tivan. Tivan opens the orb, revealing the Power Stone, an item of immense power that destroys all but the most powerful beings wielding it. Tivan’s slave Carina grabs the stone, causing an explosion that consumes Tivan’s collection. Ronan arrives and easily defeats Drax, while the others flee by ship, pursued by Ronan’s followers and Gamora’s adopted sister Nebula. Nebula destroys Gamora’s ship, leaving her floating in space, and Ronan’s warriors capture the Orb.
Quill contacts Yondu before following Gamora into space, giving him his helmet to survive; Yondu arrives and rescues the pair. Rocket, Drax, and Groot threaten to attack Yondu’s ship to rescue them, but Quill negotiates a truce by promising Yondu the orb. Quill’s team agrees that facing Ronan means certain death, but they can’t let him use the Infinity Stones to destroy the galaxy. On Ronan’s flagship, the Dark Aster, Ronan embeds the Stone in his Warhammer, taking its power for himself. He contacts Thanos, threatening to kill Xander after first destroying him. Hateful of her adoptive father, Nebula allies with Ronan.
The Ravagers and Quill’s group join the Nova Corps to confront the Dark Aster at Xander, with Quill’s group breaching the battleship with Milano. Ronan uses his empowered Warhammer to destroy the Nova Corps fleet. Drax kills Korath and Gamora defeats Nebula, who escapes, but the team find themselves outmatched by Ronan’s power until a rocket crashes through the Dark Aster. A damaged Dark Aster crash-lands on Xandar, sacrificing herself to protect the Groot group. Ronan emerges from the rubble and prepares to destroy Xander, but Quill distracts him, allowing Drax and Rocket to destroy Ronan’s Warhammer. Quill grabs the freed stone, and with Gamora, Drax, and Rocket sharing the load, uses it to vaporize Ronan.
Later, Quill tricks Yondu into a container containing the stone and gives the original to the Nova Corps. As the Ravagers leave Xandar, Yondu remarks that it is well proven that they did not deliver the Quill to his father as per their agreement. Quill’s clan, now known as the Guardians of the Galaxy, have their criminal records expunged, and Quill learns that he is only half-human, his father part of an ancient, unknown species. Quill finally opened the last gift he received from his mother, a cassette tape filled with his favorite songs. The Guardians leave in the rebuilt Milano with a potted sapling cut from Groot, which grows into a child version of him.
In a post-credits scene, Tivan sits in his destroyed archive with two of his living exhibits: a canine astronaut and an anthropomorphic duck.

Cast and characters

Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord:
The half-human, half-alien leader of the Guardians was abducted as a child from Missouri in 1988 and raised by a group of alien thieves and smugglers known as the Ravagers. Of the character, Pratt said, “He had a really hard time as a kid, and now he’s wandering around space, making out with hot alien girls and just being a rogue and a bit of a jerk, and teaming up with these guys, finding a higher purpose for himself. Gets,” he added, adding that the character is a mix of Han Solo and Marty McFly. Pratt, who was mostly known for playing supporting roles alongside Andy Dwyer on the television series Parks and Recreation, initially turned down the role. Pratt lost weight to play suitable roles in films such as Moneyball (2011) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012), and gave up ambitions to play lead roles in action films after humble auditions for Star Trek and Avatar (both 2009). Casting director Sarah Finn suggested the song to Pratt, who rejected the idea despite struggling to be cast in the role. Nevertheless, Finn arranges a meeting between the two, during which Gunn is immediately convinced that Pratt is perfect for the role. Pratt won over Feige despite gaining weight again for Delivery Man (2013). Prior to filming, Pratt followed a strict diet and training regimen to lose 60 pounds (27 kg) in six months. Pratt signed a multi-film deal with Marvel, and was granted a temporary leave of absence from Parks and Recreation for his participation in the film. Wyatt Oleff plays a young Quill.
Zoe Saldana as Gamora:
An orphan from a foreign world who seeks redemption for his past crimes. He was trained by Thanos to be his personal assassin. Saldana said she became Gamora through make-up rather than computer-generated imagery (CGI) or performance capture. Of taking on the role, Saldana said, “I was just excited to join James Gunn and have someone green play me. Before [Avatar] I was blue”. Saldana described Gamora as “… a warrior, she’s an assassin and she’s very lethal, but what protects her can destroy her. She has a sense of righteousness. She’s a very religious person”.
Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer:
A warrior who seeks revenge for the death of his family at the hands of Ronan. Regarding the character, Bautista said, “I can just relate to Drax so much that it’s not even funny. Just simple things that we have in common. Simple things like tattoos, tragedy — because, you know, I’ve had a bit of tragedy in my life.” . So it’s really easy for me to walk away from it.” Bautista also said that there was “a lot of comic relief for Drax”, but the character wasn’t aware of it. Bautista said that he did not prepare much for the role, because “fortunately, for me, I’m a lifelong athlete and I adapt really quickly” Bautista’s makeup took about four hours to apply, although it could be removed in just 90 minutes. Drax’s body has a variety of scar patterns, replacing the usual tattoos in the comics, each with a specific story. Additionally, his skin tone was changed from the bright green of the comics to a muddy gray to avoid a visual resemblance to the Hulk.
Vin Diesel as Groot:
A tree-like humanoid, he is Rocket’s ally. Diesel said he provided voice and motion capture for Groot, originally after being in talks to star in a new Phase Three Marvel film. Diesel also provided the voice of Groot for several foreign language film releases. Christian Godlewski portrayed the character on set, although his performance was not used in the final character CGI. Gunn based the character on his dog, Gunn said, “All the Guardians start the movie as bastards—except Groot. He’s an innocent. He’s 100 percent deadly and 100 percent sweet. He’s caught up in Rocket’s life, really”. Gunn added that it took “the better part of a year” to create Groot’s design and movement. Gunn added, “The way Vin Diesel says, ‘I’m Groot,’ I’m amazed. All the vocals before ‘I’m Groot’ didn’t sound good at all… Vin came along one day, laid down all these ‘I’m Groot’ tracks.” , and he’s a perfectionist. He always explained to me [sic] ‘I’m Groot,’ what he was saying… It was amazing when we first put that voice on how much the character changed and how much he influenced the character” Groot. Regarding the limited words used by, Diesel said in many ways that it was, “… the most challenging thing to ask an actor to do”. Diesel found an emotional note in his performance, invoking the death of his friend and Fast & Furious co-star Paul Walker, saying, “It was in December [2013], and the first time I came back after dealing with people. With death, so one Playing a character who celebrates life the way Groot did was beautiful”. Groot’s form and shape-shifting abilities are seen, with the song stating that he has the ability to grow in the film.
Bradley Cooper as Rocket:
A genetically-engineered raccoon-based bounty hunter, mercenary, and master of weapons and combat tactics. Gunn worked with live raccoons to get the character right and to make sure it was “not a cartoon character,” saying, “It’s not Bugs Bunny in the middle of the Avengers, it’s a real, little, slightly mangled beast. The only one. There’s no one else like him in the universe. No, these guys made him a mean-ass fighting machine” From his original feeling that a talking raccoon in a superhero film might look a bit silly, Gunn came up with a tragic origin story for Rocket that made him the “sad creature” of the universe; Said backstory will eventually be explored in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) Gun also based the character on himself. Describing Rocket with the rest of the Guardians, Cooper said, “I think Rocket is dynamic. He’s like Joe Pesci from the Goodfellas (1990) guy”. Cooper voiced Rocket, while Sean Gunn (James’ younger brother) stood in for the character during filming. James Gunn stated that for the role of Rocket, some of Cooper’s physical movements, including facial expressions and hand movements, were recorded as possible reference for the animators, although most of Sean Gunn’s acting was used throughout the film. Sean noted that they “kind of stumbled” in the process of casting him on set because they “weren’t sure how we were going to build that character”. The same process continued to be used for all subsequent appearances of the rocket. Before casting Cooper, James Gunn said that finding a voice for Rocket was a challenge, that he was looking for someone who “could balance Rocket’s fast-talking style, but also be funny, because he’s really funny but also the heart of Rocket. Yes. Because there are some pretty dramatic scenes with Rocket”.
Lee Pace as Ronan Accused:
A Kree zealot and war criminal who agrees to retrieve an artifact for Thanos in exchange for the destruction of his mortal enemies, the Xandarians. Ronan and his Sakaran forces hunt down the Guardians when they interfere with his mission. Describing Ronan, Gunn said, “He’s the primary villain, and he’s a really twisted guy, he’s really religious in this film. He has a very sick and twisted view of what morality is; strength is virtue and weakness is vice, and that’s what Lives life, and I think he’s very scary because of his beliefs, which are real to him.” Pace, who originally auditioned for Peter Quill, described Ronan as a “psycho” and a “monster”.
Michael Rooker as Yondu Udonta:
A blue-skinned bandit who is the leader of the Ravagers and Quill’s father figure. Yondu helps Quill steal the orb before Quill betrays him, leaving Yondu and the Guardians of Ravagers to chase after him. Of the character, Rooker said, he has “some interesting problems – not a good guy, not a bad guy. There’s hope and Yondu has a heart inside”. Gunn created the film version of the character specifically with Rooker in mind, while using the character’s mohawk and a whistle-controlled arrow from the comics. Rooker fully committed to the role after learning that his role would culminate in The Walking Dead TV series. Rooker’s makeup took about four hours to apply.
Karen Gillan as Nebula:
An adopted daughter of Thanos who grew up with Gamora as siblings and a loyal lieutenant in the service of Ronan and Thanos. Of the character, Gillan said, “She’s the female villain of the film… She’s very sad and evil, but I like to think for a very valid reason”.[55] He also added, “I think she’s a really interesting character. I What I love to play with is how jealous she is. She’s Gamora’s sister, and there’s a lot of sibling rivalry. That’s the most interesting aspect to me, because jealousy can be consuming. You and you’re bitter, and ugly on. And she’s a total sadist, So it’s a lot of fun”[56] Gunn and Gillon worked to create Nebula’s voice as simultaneous impressions of Marilyn Monroe and Clint Eastwood. Gillan researched the ancient Spartans, shaved his hair and trained for two months for the role. It took about four and a half hours to apply the character’s makeup.
Digimon Honsu as Korath:
A Kree ally of Ronan who is a fearsome intergalactic predator. On why he took on the role, Hounsou said, “I have a four-year-old son who loves superheroes, from Spider-Man to Iron Man to Batman. He has all the costumes. One day he looked at me and said, ‘Dad, I want to be light-skinned so that I get to be Spider-Man. It was kind of a shock. That’s why I’m excited to be a part of the Marvel Universe, so I hope I can provide that diversity in superhero roles.”
John C. as Roman Day. Reilly: A corpsman in the Nova Corps, the Nova Empire’s military and police force.
Glenn Close as Irani Rael:
The leader of the Nova Corps, known as Nova Prime, whose mission is to protect the citizens of the Nova Empire and keep the peace.[9][61][62] Close said that he had “always wanted to be in a movie like this”, and that it was “Judi Dench [M as] or Samuel L. Jackson [as Nick Fury] would be the most fun to play”. [63] He said he took the role because he “loves to do different things” and wanted to show that he was “[always] up for anything”. He also said that he has “several” films under contract and would be open to returning to the Guardians sequel as well as working on other Marvel Studios films.
Benicio del Toro as Tivan/The Collector by Tunnell:
An obsessive custodian of the largest collection of interstellar creatures, relics, and species in the galaxy who operates from a place in space called Nahoar. Describing del Toro’s performance, Gunn said, “He’s like an extraterrestrial Liberace. That’s what the script says he’s doing.” Of bringing the character to life, del Toro said, “What James [Gunn] wanted, I realized little by little as I was doing it, was that he wanted me to explore and just keep pushing the character and building him up. ] As I was on camera. I was in front”.
Additionally, Josh Brolin appears as Thanos, taking over the role from Damion Poitier, via voice acting and performance capture. Sean Gunn stood in for Thanos during filming and played Kraglin Obfonteri, Yondu’s first mate in the Ravagers. Alexis Denisof reprized his role as Thanos’ visor, “The Other”, from The Avengers (2012). Ophelia Lovibond plays Carina, the Collector’s slave; Peter Serafinowicz plays Nova Corps officer Daenery Garthan Sal; Greg Henry plays Quill’s grandfather; Laura Haddock plays Meredith, Quill’s mother; Melia Kreiling Bereet plays; Christopher Fairbank plays The Broker; Mikaela Hoover plays Nova Prime’s assistant; Marama Corlette playing the role of pit boss at the bar, The Boot; Emmett J. Scanlan plays a Nova Riot Guard; Moloka Dar played by Alexis Rodney; Tom Proctor plays Horuge, a Ravager; And Spencer Wilding plays a prison guard who confiscates Quill’s Walkman. Canine actor Fred appears as Cosmo. Stephen Blackheart had a supporting role. Naomi Ryan also had a supporting role in the film, although it was cut in the final version. Cameos in the film include: James Gunn as Sakaran; Stan Lee as the Zandarian Ladies’ Man; Nathan Fillion as the voice of a prisoner; Rob Zombie as the voice of Ravager Navigator; composer Tyler Bates as a Ravager pilot; and Seth Green as the voice of Howard the Duck.

Box Office

Guardians of the Galaxy grossed $333.7 million in North America and an estimated $439.6 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $773.3 million. The film became the third-highest-grossing film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, behind The Avengers and Iron Man 3. It was the third-highest-grossing film of 2014 (behind Transformers: Age of Extinction and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies) and the highest-grossing superhero film of 2014. It had a worldwide opening weekend of $160.7 million. Deadline Hollywood calculated the film’s net profit at $204.2 million, accounting for production budget, marketing, talent engagements and other costs; Box office gross and home media revenue placed them fifth on the “Most Valuable Blockbusters” list of 2014.

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