The First Official Photo for Guardians of the Galaxy

Walt Disney Studios just sent over a hi-res photo of the first official photo for Marvel Studios' GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.

Pictured from Left to Right: Gamorra (Zoe Saldana), Peter Quill/ Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista/ Batista) and Groot (Vin Diesel).

Here's a rather lengthy synopsis from Marvel Studios:

The first official photo has gone online from Marvel Studios' "Guardians of the Galaxy." The still shows the five major characters who make up the team - Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket Raccoon, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, and Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot.

From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of “Iron Man,” “Thor,” “Captain America” and “The Avengers,” comes a new team – the “Guardians of the Galaxy.”

An action-packed, epic space adventure, “Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits–Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon, Groot, a tree-like humanoid, the deadly and enigmatic Gamora and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer.

But when Peter discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand – with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

Directed by James Gunn, the live-action "Guardians of the Galaxy" will take fans to new corners of the Marvel Universe when it hits theaters August 1, 2014.

Vin Diesel Joins Guardians of the Galaxy as Groot

It's official! Vin Diesel is going to lend his husky voice for the Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy! 

Diesel and Groot credits: Walt Disney Studios PH

The star of the “Fast and the Furious” and “Riddick” franchises will lend his voice to Groot in Marvel's live-action "Guardians of the Galaxy," rounding out the team that includes Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Drax (Dave Bautista).

Featured in four of the six movies in the fan-favorite "Fast & Furious" franchise, Diesel has helped the series gross over $2 billion at the box office; and will reprise his role in "Fast & Furious 7." Diesel's most recent film, "Riddick," the third film in the franchise that has so far earned a cumulative $267.3 million across the globe, debuted this year at the top of the box office. In addition to lending his voice to several video games, Diesel's received great acclaim for his voice work in the celebrated animated film "The Iron Giant," directed by Brad Bird.

In the far reaches of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, an unlikely cast of characters including Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket Raccoon must join forces to defeat a cosmic force of epic proportions. Directed by James Gunn, the live-action "Guardians of the Galaxy" will take fans to new corners of the Marvel Universe when it hits theaters August 1, 2014, but in the meantime stay tuned to Marvel.com for the latest news as it breaks, including official casting, first looks and more!

In addition to "Guardians of the Galaxy," Marvel Studios will release a slate of films based on the Marvel characters including "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" on April 4, 2014; "Avengers: Age of Ultron" on May 1, 2015; and "Ant-Man" on July 31, 2015.

Marvel Studios Starts Production on "Guardians of the Galaxy"

Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” Commences Principal Photography in the UK in Preparation for August 1, 2014 Film Release

BURBANK, CALIF. (July22,2013) – “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the next epic adventure from Marvel Studios has started shooting at the UK’s Shepperton Studios. Directed by James Gunn (“Slither,”“Super”) from his screenplay, with a story by Nicole Perlman and Gunn, the film will introduce audiences to a whole new side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The all-star cast includes Chris Pratt (“Zero Dark Thirty”, “Moneyball”) as Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana (“Star Trek Into Darkness”, “Avatar”) as Gamora, Dave Bautista (“Riddick”) as Drax the Destroyer, Lee Pace (“The Hobbit,”“Lincoln”) as Ronan the Accuser, Michael Rooker (AMC’s “The Walking Dead”) as Yondu, Karen Gillan (BBC TV’s “Doctor Who”) as Nebula, two-time Academy Award® nominee Djimon Hounsou (“Amistad”, “Gladiator”) as Korath, with Academy Award® winner Benicio del Toro (“Traffic”) as The Collector, Academy Award® nominee John C. Reilly (“Chicago”) as Rhomann Dey, and six-time Academy Award® nominee Glenn Close (“Albert Nobbs,” “Fatal Attraction”) as Nova Prime.

Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” is slated for an August 1, 2014 release in the U.S.

Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing the film. The executive producers are Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Alan Fine and Stan Lee; the co-producer is Nik Korda.

The creative team includes director of photography Ben Davis, BSC (“Wrath of the Titans”, “Kick-Ass”), production designer Charles Wood (“Thor: The Dark World”), BAFTA-nominated Editor Fred Raskin (“Django Unchained,” “Fast Five”) and Academy Award®-winning editor Hughes Winborne, A.C.E. (“The Help,”“Crash”), and Academy Award® winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne (“Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Elizabeth The Golden Age”). The film will also shoot at Longcross Studios, and locations in and around London.

Marvel Studios’ last two releases were “Marvel’s The Avengers” and “Iron Man 3,” which are the #3 and #5 highest grossing films of all time and the two highest-grossing films ever released by the Walt Disney Company. The two films are the #1 and #2 all-time domestic 3-day weekend box office record holders at $207.4 million and $174.1 million respectively. The studio’s upcoming release schedule includes “Thor: The Dark World” on October 30, 2013, and “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” on April 4, 2014.

New Images for the New Riddick Movie

Vin Diesel is back in one of his most unforgettable roles as the Furian Richard B. Riddick for the third movie of the Chronicles of Riddick saga simply entitled "Riddick". 

I'm still curious as to how this movie will neatly tie up everything about the Riddick saga. And hopefully this is just a 'closure' to a trilogy and not an ultimate death to the character (I haven't played 'Butcher's Bay' yet so don't die on me pal). 

Read more after the cut.