PREVIEW - Kotobukiya Statue featuring Guardians of the Galaxy's Rocket Raccoon and Groot

Toyark gives us an awesome peak at some of the upcoming stuff related to MARVEL'S GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY including the KOTOBUKIYA bust of Rocket Raccoon & Groot.

This one will come out around September 2014 according to the Kotobukiya page.

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Full Trailer is Here!

Huzzah! Here's the first full trailer for MARVEL'S GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY directed by James Gunn and stars Chris Pratt as Peter Quill aka Star Lord (who?)

Watch the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy below:



And yes totally loved this scene...

The film opens August 1, 2014 here in the Philippines, distributed locally by Walt Disney Studios Philippines & Columbia Pictures.

Three New Images from Guardians of the Galaxy

As the release date for the trailer for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy comes closer, Marvel Studios has unveiled more photos from the James Gunn directed movie which also stars Chris Pratt, Batista, Zoe Saldana and featuring the voices of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel.

The movie will also star John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Lee Pace, Benicio Del Toro and Karen Gillian. 

Check out the Guardians' sweet ride...

Of course I might be wrong and this might actually belong to the bad guys and the not-so-bad guys like the Nova Corps.

... and here's Emmett  Chris Pratt as Star Lord, Peter Quill...

Late last week we also a teaser featuring the look the film will have for the adorable Rocket Raccoon and his ever loyal partner Groot. 

BLAM! Murdered you!

Lest I forget, the first official trailer for GOTG will be making the rounds in the interwebs starting February 18. 

Guardians of the Galaxy will be released here in the Philippines August 1, 2014 from Walt Disney Studios Ph.

Credit: Superherohype

SPOILERS: Who's Back from the Dead in All New X-Men # 23

Somebody yet again returns from the dead in ALL NEW X-MEN # 23 by Brian Michael Bendis and Stuart Immonen. Part 3 of Trial of Jean Grey! 

In this issue, more of Jean Grey in the custody of the Shiar empire, more witty banter between the All New X-Men and the Guardians of the Galaxy and a special surprise appearance by...

Yes, Corsair is back from the dead. Oh and the original cast of the Starjammers are back too including Hepzibah who dropped out of the X-Books post Messiah CompleX

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.

Guardians of the Galaxy Recruits Agent Venom and Captain Marvel

Flash is going to space... well not Flash Gordon but rather Eugene "Flash" Thompson aka Agent Venom or simply Venom. 

Oh and Flash isn't the only new member for the team, Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers will be joining for the ride. 

This new iteration of the team will be coming out for Free Comic Book Day 2014. The book will be written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Nick Bradshaw. There'll be a backup story written by Dan Slott (Superior Spider-Man) and Giuseppe Camuncoli. 

THOR: THE DARK WORLD Spoiler Review

So this is it, the real spoiler-heavy review for THOR: THE DARK WORLD. Took me long enough but here it is.

Compared to the first THOR movie, the second had so much meat. Again I refer to it as meat not the whole package. But's lets go back to that later.

Malekith The Accursed here was under-utilized. I mean here we have a powerful enemy for Thor and Asgard with technology that made the feared Asgardians look like chumps and we rarely get to see them do anything other than infiltrate Asgard, threaten Natalie Portman's character Jane Foster and kill Rene Russo's Frigga. That's it for them. It would have been better if they get raided throughout the Asgard scenes seeing that Malekith's got a lot of Dark Elf fodder at his beck and call.

Underused is also how I would describe the Warrior's Three and Lady Sif. They all have their cool moments somewhere in the film but it's really not enough. These aren't you average foot soldiers after all; these are the most trusted advisers for the future king of Asgard. Amongst them four, I really felt bad for Hogun the Grim who was practically written out of the story. The moment the battle was won in his world, he stayed behind and then towards the end, we see a glimpse of him; just a glimpse.

The love triangle between Lady Sif, Thor and Jane Foster was also non-existent. That's one of the things I was looking forward to in this Alan Taylor-helmed film yet it never resurfaced. We're only relegated to a few dirty looks and that was it.

Kurse was cool here. I loved how he transformed from Angrim to Kurse. Those scenes also could lead to future Agent of SHIELD territory but really, that's a long shot. What's definite is that monster that got left behind in London during the 'big' battle scene between Thor and Malekith and the rest of the Dark Elves. Coulson, Ward and the rest of our team would have their hands full that's for sure.

With regards to the special Avengers cameo here - It's Captain America.

This happens after Thor busts out Loki from his cell and Loki keeps on transforming to annoy his brother. One of the transformations that he undergoes through is as Chris Evans' in his Captain America costume from The Avengers. It's short, sweet and totally caught me off guard. Good one Marvel Studios.

Like what I've said in the non-spoilery version, I loved how the filmmakers gave Asgard. What was once an empty and dull civilization is suddenly full of life with actual people and with actual soldiers to boot. Kudos to Alan Taylor for his experience in directing episodes of Game of Thrones, at least this doesn't look like a ghost town. And they actually have MRIs and Gun turrets in Asgard too.

The two post credit trailers were up there in my list. Benicio Del Toro as The Collector was very interesting, almost Mugatu-ish. Still pretty and it also gives us more insights with regards to what the INFINITY GEMS will look like in the MCU. The dialogue was just.... wow. It does open the world of hurt for the good guys as it's implied that The Collector too is after the gems. Also wow again for making both the Tesseract (re: Cosmic Cube) and the Aether are both the gems. 

The second post-credit scene was OK. I mean it doesn't change anything other than having Thor at the ready for Avengers: Age of Ultron. That and that scary looking monster that got stranded in Midgard following the transdimensional fight between Thor and Malekith. 

Fuck I almost forgot that Marvel wasn't quiet about showing us Surtur's fiery realm in the climax. That alone is a huge easter egg if fan clamor/rumor is to be trusted. Surture and the fire giants, here we come! 

Finally, the ending was great. I read somewhere that the trilogy for the big three always wanted to emulate the formula for the Star Wars trilogy. THOR: THE DARK WORLD definitely hit the right chords if it wanted to become the EMPIRE STRIKES BACK for the film franchise. Oh and if you're asking me how I saw that ending, I'd say Loki got Odin trapped somewhere in a deep, dark recess of the dungeons. Somewhere only he knows or everybody's forgotten. Heck he could've forced Odin to tell him the location of this dungeon. 

THOR: THE DARK WORLD did not have a mission statement so it's really hard to gauge it on anything other than the previous movie. It does open new doors for both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the TV-verse spearheaded by the Agents of SHIELD series. 

THOR: THE DARK WORLD is still showing in all cinemas nationwide! 

Guardians of the Galaxy Banner Spotted

I've got newfound respect for the Facebook group Marvel Cinematic Universe as they have been giving out some pretty neat info. 

A friend pointed out to me that this group was where he found out the identity of that surprise guest-star in THOR: THE DARK WORLD and now they've shared this little bit of promotional material for GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.

This was plastered in the cinema where THOR 2 premiered in Sao Paolo, Brazil. Nothing really to go by but it's a pretty sweet connection especially if you've seen the post-credits scene from the Chris Hemsworth starrer.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Director Who Did the first Post-Credit Scene for Thor: The Dark World

is apparently James Gunn.

Bleedingcool reveals that Kevin Feige had commissioned the first scene since it will involve a crossover of sorts between key characters from Thor: The Dark World and Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy". 

And you know I think it was an apt decision to do so, despite the fact that it seemed like Alan Taylor (Thor:TDW director) wasn't all too pleased. 

Can't blame him though, it's like composing a song and having the record label slip in a line from another artist. Still it's fascinating that they do so because it really paints a bigger picture for the Marvel Cinematic Universe or MCU.

Unconfirmed Thor: The Dark World Post-Credit Spoilers

Two unconfirmed spoilers for the post-credits of Marvel Studios' "Thor: The Dark World".

This was collected from Brainfreeze.be thru Comicbook.com (so if it fucks up, I'm not the instigator hehehe).

POST CREDIT SCENE 1:

Involves Lady Sif and Volstagg returning this 'aether' to the Intergalactic museum where we get to meet this guy...

Yeah, apparently Marvel snuck in an appearance of Benicio Del Toro as "The Collector". This is basically a tie-up to next year's "Guardians of the Galaxy". Del Toro's Collector then utters the words "One down, five to go". There's a subtle reference to the six Infinity Gems which Marvel seems hellbent on doing past the MCU Phase three.

POST CREDIT SCENE 2:

Will focus on the lovestory between Thor Odinson and Jane Foster back on Earth. According to the plot, the reunited lovers go for a passionate kiss but is disrupted by an Asgardian beast tearing through London.

Must be a BILGESNIPE

THOR: THE DARK WORLD opens October 30.

New Marvel Now Teasers Point to the TRIAL OF JEAN GREY

Two new Marvel Now 2 teasers seems to point out that the rumored Guardians of the Galaxy / X-Men crossover is good to go. 

The aforementioned crossover will be entitled "Trial of Jean Grey" and will most likely rely on whatever the heck happens in "X-Men: Battle of the Atom". 

Personally I don't think that this is going to be just a two-issue thing. Knowing how Bendis wants to drag stuff around and fill issues with "talkies" this could go for around two issues of All New X-Men and two issues for GOTG with Stuart Immonen and Sara Picheli respectively.

So Vin Diesel Just Posted a Photo of him and Groot

Should we be jumping for joy over the fact that we're getting an "almost-yes" on Diesel's involvement in Marvel Studios' "Guardians of the Galaxy"?

Probably so because this has got to be the best casting news in days. 

I'm speculating this is 90% true already and I need the other shoe to drop (an announcement from Marvel Studios or something).

Still, a big win for Marvel Cinematic Universe if this is true! 

Fast and Furious 7 Adds Djimon Hounsou

Djimon Hounsou is one of the fine few actors who has yet really jumped into the bandwagon of franchise films. Luckily James Wan changes all that with the inclusion of the actor for the next installment in the Fast and Furious films.

Hounsou joins new cast members Ronda Rousey, Kurt Russell, Jason Statham and Tony Jaa. No details yet on the film as well as where they will be shooting the film. Fast & Furious 7 opens July 11, 2014. The film still stars Vin Diesel and Paul Walker.

Hounsou will however be joining another James for another summer blockbuster appearing next year, James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy" which is top billed by Chris Pratt as Peter Quill aka Star Lord.

BRADLEY COOPER is Officially Voicing Rocket Raccoon

Marvel Studios, James Gunn and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy crew has added another star to their belt in the form of Hangover star Bradley Cooper. Marvel has announced that the 'Silver Linings Playbook' star will be lending his voice to the Guardian member Rocket Raccoon.

Cooper will be joining Chris Pratt (Peter Quill/ Starlord), Dave Bautista aka Batista (Drax the Destroyer), Zoe Saldana (Gamorra) and Michael Rooker (Yondu) as well as Karen Gillian (Nebula), Benicio Del Toro (The Collector), Lee Pace (Ronan the Accuser), John C. Reilly and Glen Close.



And he'll be working with James Gunn. 

MICHAEL ROOKER is All Blue as Yondu - First Look

Actor MICHAEL ROOKER (The Walking Dead) was spotted on the set of Marvel Studios' GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY in all blue as he portrays the classic GOTG character Yondu.

That definitely is Michael Rooker. What I want to see though is that red mohawk/ fin that old-school Yondu used to wear around while kicking alien ass with guys like Major Victory.

Not too shabby looking if you ask me. It just hits all the right things. Again, it could've been better with the mohawk and the bows and arrows but that's just me. 

Source - Superherohype and WENN.com 

Could Vin Diesel Voice Groot from GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY?

Vin Diesel teased that he was in talks with Marvel for something. Speculations run wild that he was either going to be a baddie, or voice Ultron or become The Vision for the next Avengers movie, Avengers: Age of Ultron. However there's a new rumor swirling. 

The new rumor suggests that Diesel is in talks with Disney/Marvel to lend his voice to the Tree Alien Warrior GROOT for next year's GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. 

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY # 5 Spoiler Review

Here's my review for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy # 5 by Brian Michael Bendis and Sarah Pichelli courtesy of course by Comicx Hub and Castle Geek.

Oh and it's spoiler heavy...

So this issue is an important issue because this is the second appearance of Angela in the Marvel 616 Universe. Other than that it also picks up what happens to this GOTG team after their fight, abduction and subsequent escape from the Badoon. 

All right I'm going to go out on a limb here and tell you as early as now - don't expect too much on Angela because while we get to see her vent and act all confused, she's hardly the POV character for the issue. That distinction belongs once again to Peter Quill aka Star Lord. And it's a smart move on Bendis' part.

The main drive relies on Peter Quill's solo adventure in a different part of the galaxy looking for his former teammate Mantis who has now chosen a quiet life. The reason for this is to make sense out of the recent 'flood of memory' that Quill got zapped with after the events of AGE OF ULTRON.

Tony Stark and Rocket Raccoon share some great page time with the former getting schooled by the latter. Some of the dialogue here is just comedy gold and the sheer situation that Stark is finding himself in is just hilarious such as his awkwardness with teammate Gamorra or when he tries to quote Star Trek...

While the Quill side of things do not crossover with Angela's story it does hint to something bigger and more destructive tying the book neatly to where Marvel is going in the next couple of months (hint: it's called INFINITY). That part is what really makes this book a nice find. It's going on two separate fronts, has its own spills and tumbles but still makes for a great issue.

Ms. Pichelli's art here was exceptional. It's gorgeous to look at and it's on the same level as Steve McNiven but it's distinctly hers. Also I'm not sure if it's just really the material she's handling but it's so far away from her previous work in Ultimate Comics Spider-Man. Really damn good.

And that ending?

I must say this.... Something wicked this way comes.

VERDICT: 9/10

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY # 5 is available now at CASTLE GEEK and COMICX HUB (order HERE). Also check out the variant covers also available online (Comicx Hub also has a variant sale)