Get A Better Sense of Marvel's New Movie With This Guide To The Guardians of the Galaxy

• 01

  Chris Pratt as Star-Lord/Peter Quill

  
  Peter Quill was born on Earth to a human mother, his father: an alien named J'son of Spartax. With no super powers, he relies on his brains to get him out of tight spots.
  
  You'll see on his wrap sheet in the trailer, Yondu is listed as one of Star-Lord's known associates. Yondu is a kick-ass blue alien who founded The Guardians in the 1970's comic and will be played by former Walking Dead-ite, Michael Rooker. Will this be a sort of mentor figure for Star-Lord?
  
  
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• 02

  Zoe Saldana as Gamora

  
  Zoe Saldana is becoming the female face of Sci-Fi, and I'm glad to see her take on Gamora. The last of her race, Gamora is a skilled assassin seeking redemption. As an orphaned child, she was adopted by big-baddie Thanos who trained her in the art of killing. This is the most likely connection to the rest of the Marvel Movie Universe, as Avengers, Thor 2 and basically everything in the past year have hinted at the Infinity Gauntlet storyline, which culminates in Thanos' quest to seize the universe.
  
  
• 03

  Bradley Cooper as Rocket Raccoon

  
  I predict that in four months everyone will own a Rocket plushie. The first of our entirely 3D characters, I am not quite sure how Rocket's origin will be portrayed in the film. Director, James Gunn has hinted about Rocket being a genetic/mechanical experiment (a sort of sentient half robot/half raccoon mercenary). In the comics, he simply comes from a planet of talking animals with pals like Wal Russ (a walrus). His dossier includes a known associate, Lylla: a talking otter and his OTP.
  
  
• 04

  Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer

  
  After Arthur Douglas' family was killed by Thanos, his soul is used to create the muscled, revenge-driven berserker, Drax the Destroyer. I doubt we'll see this full back story elaborated in the movie, but imagine a smarter Hulk who only wants to kill the people who hurt him and you got Drax.
  
  
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• 05

  Vin Diesel as Groot

  
  Groot is sort of the Chewbacca to Rocket Raccoon's Han Solo. He's been described as the only one of the team who is genuinely nice and innocent at the beginning of the film. He's also a super strong, seemingly immortal tree alien who only says "I Am Groot!" The casting of Vin Diesel is sure to evoke a few tears from me as I remember The Iron Giant.
  
  
  
  The Villains
• 06

  Nova Corps

  
  Nothing too crazy about the Nova Corps; they're essentially space police. If I had to guess, I'd assume they'll mostly be a minor annoyance and comic relief for The Guardians. It is worth noting, however, that unseen in the trailer, is the head of Nova Corps, Commander Rael played by Glenn Close. It is unlikely that they would hire someone with her notoriety unless it's a juicy part.
• 07

  Benecio Del Toro As The Collector

  
  If you remember the credits to Thor 2 you'll remember The Collector. As one of the oldest beings in the universe, he collects artifacts from various societies as a kind of time capsule to preserve in case of some universe destroying event.
  
  In Thor 2, the norse god's friends deliver the Aether (an Infinity Stone) to him for safe keeping. Is someone going to take it from him? Does he want to find all the stones for his own ultimate power?
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• 08

  Karen Gillan as Nebula

  
  Nebula is a blood thirsty space pirate and remorseless killer and she's played by Doctor Who companion Karen Gillan. In the comics she claims to be Thanos' granddaughter, and like everyone seeks the Infinity Stones/Gauntlet for herself. Also, it looks like she has a sword fight with Zoe Saldana, so... that's awesome.
• 09

  Djimon Hounsou as Korath the Pursuer

  
  Korath the Pursuer is a hunter and brilliant geneticist for an alien race of baddies called The Kree and likely the big bad's right-hand man. He uses genetic upgrades to make himself a master tracker. The Kree are frequently at war with another alien race called The Skrulls. In the comics, the Earth gets caught up in this galactic war and The Avengers step in to protect the planet.
• 10

  Lee Pace as Ronan The Accuser

  
  This is the only shot of the Ronan the Accuser that we get in the trailer. Like Korath, he's a Kree, but he'll most likely be a rogue agent seeking new, dangerous methods of destroying his foes. For a better sense of the character, here's a picture of his newly revealed action figure.
  
  
  
  The Guardians of the Galaxy is set to be one of the biggest summer movies, and the weirdest Marvel movie to date. It's the last new movie released before Avengers 2 next year, so a lot is riding on this dark horse of a movie.

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