By Brent McKnight | 6 years ago

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy hasn’t even opened yet, and won’t for a couple more weeks, but it’s already tracking to be a decent-sized hit. And because the comic book giant has their promotional machine working in high gear, running in a continual loop, there are also nine new photos from the film, and behind the scenes for you to peruse before the August 1 release.

When the studio announced that Guardians was going to be their next project, many of us interpreted this as a risky move. After all, this isn’t the biggest name on their roster, and the cast is full of unusual anti-heroic characters, including a talking alien tree and a raccoon with a penchant for heavy arms and grand theft auto. However, according to many experts, this big-budget gamble could pay big time dividends, as the film is on target to make an estimated $60 million during its opening weekend.

The James Gunn-directed deep space adventure follows the exploits of a team of unlikely outlaws that must come together in order to defeat a great evil and save the galaxy. The crew includes leader Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), green assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldana), big blue maniac Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), and Groot, the aforementioned alien tree. All in all, that sounds like a damn fine time at the movies to us.

With a production budget in the $170 million range, this is a good indicator that they will make their money back, and then some, and quickly to boot. And if Guardians is a big time financial success, it’s a strong indicator that Marvel can do just about whatever the hell they want and people will go see it. That also bodes well for a Doctor Strange movie, which, though well known, is a bit on fringes, subject wise, for mainstream audiences, as well as other future endeavors.

These are big numbers, to be sure, but are somewhat less mind-boggling when compared to movies like Transformers: Age of Extinction, which raked in $100 million it’s first weekend, and the $73 million wrangled up by Dawn of the Planet of the Apes just this past weekend. Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier also clocked $95 million it’s first weekend earlier this year. Still, considering most mainstream audiences had no idea who these people were before the Guardians announcement, this is pretty damn good.

Looking at this gallery of new photos just released by Marvel, there isn’t much that you haven’t already seen multiple times before. There are a couple of Drax, looking exactly as menacing as you would hope from a giant blue ass-kicking machine. He may not be the brightest bulb, but he’s a good guy to have on your side in a scuffle. You get a couple group shots of the core team, as well as one of Gunn working with the actors, including Michael Rooker as Yondu. This also drives home Star-Lord’s penchant for cassette tapes, which you know that has to be a custom addition to their ship, the Milano. That photo of Star-Lord in a sandstorm is also pretty sweet, and probably the most noteworthy addition to this collection.















