NYCC 2014 - GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Animated Series Coming To Disney XD
Guardians of the Galaxy was the #1 movie of 2014 (so far), which took everyone by surprise, probably even Marvel and Disney. Now, Disney is hoping to use some of that Guardians magic to help their somewhat struggling Disney XD network, and the New York Times has now made it official — the Guardians of the Galaxy are getting their own animated series, set to air on the channel sometime in the next year. The animated series will be officially called Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and will feature the same team members as the movie did: Rocket Raccoon, Groot, Star-Lord, Gamora and Drax. Disney declined to say whether the movie’s stars would participate in the series, although the safe assumption would be that most of the voice cast would be replaced. (Well, at least Bradley Cooper.) An animated take on the Guardians appeared before on Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but this will likely be an all new version of the team. According to Stephen Wacker, Marvel’s vice president for current animation, the show would “strive to replicate the movie’s offbeat sense of humor.” The cartoon would also pick up where the movie left off, and Thanos would be the show’s lead villain. Wacker hopes that Guardians reflects “Phase 2″ of Marvel Animation, which already produces Ultimate Spider-Man, Avengers Assemble and Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.” for the network. “We’ve learned what works on TV and what doesn’t. You can’t be afraid to go deeper, to explore stories and characters with some depth. This audience may be young, but it can spot a stinker a mile away.” Guardians would join Star Wars: Rebels as another attempt to raise the profile of the Disney XD channel, which is aimed primarily at young boys. Disney Channel already has tons of success with young girls, spawning hit after hit, but has had less good luck with companion channel Disney XD, which faces fierce competition with Cartoon Network and Nickolodeon for the same demographic. With the help of Star Wars and now Marvel, they’re looking to change all that. Marvel Entertainment has released a teaser trailer for the new series, which you can check out below.