Marvel Studios, according to reports from Variety [1] and The Hollywood Reporter [2], has a new gang of superheroes waiting in the wings: The Guardians of the Galaxy.
Amid the on-going speculation about which Marvel characters will star in a movie scheduled for release in May 2014, the Guardians have moved to the front of the line. Speculation increased after Latino-Review.com [3] posted a report that the Guardians have been chosen for the coveted 2014 date on Marvel’s release calendar. (Only last month, Latino Review predicted that another of Marvel’s superheroes, Black Panther, would headline the mystery slot.) An announcement on Guardians is expected at Marvel's panel during Comic-Con.
Nicole Perlman, who came out of Marvel’s now-defunct screenwriting program, wrote a version of the screenplay that is well-regarded. She previously wrote two space-related biopic scripts: Challenger, about the 1986 Space Shuttle disaster, and an untitled Neil Armstrong project. She entered the writing program to broaden her range, and while there developed a reputation for action writing. Perlman wrote a Black Widow script that impressed executives enough to bring her on to work on Thor.
Meanwhile, Marvel is hard at work on an Ant-Man movie, came close to making The Runaways, and has scripts for Doctor Strange and Iron Fist, among others. Marvel also has a slate filling up with sequels to Thor, Captain America and Iron Man, as well as the galactic villain Thanos, who was introduced in a cameo at the end of The Avengers. Guardians, with its multiple characters, could operate on a similar tentpole level.
The Guardians of the Galaxy are a band of space-traveling heroes from the 31st century who were introduced into the Marvel Universe in 1969. The team has a long comics history but is relatively unknown to casual fans. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is a fan and mentioned a possible Guardians movie during an interview promoting The Avengers in April.
Members of the classic team include Major Vance Astro, a 20th century American astronaut who traveled to the future; Charlie-27, a space pilot from Jupiter; Martinex, a scientist from Pluto whose body becomes covered in a crystal-like substance; and Yondu, a blue-and-red-colored hunter from the Earth-like planet Centauri IV. Other members include minor Marvel characters such as Firelord, Starhawk and Talon. The more recent version of the team included Adam Warlock, Drax the Destroyer and Star-Lord as well as a version of Vance Astro called Major Victory.
Links:
[1] http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118056109.html
[2] http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/guardians-galaxy-movie-marvel-studios-avengers-343228
[3] http://latino-review.com/2012/06/28/exclusive-marvels-2014-movie-revealed/