Guardians of the Galaxy isn't only getting a sequel. It's also getting an animated series!
Guardians of the Galaxyis getting an animated series, Marvel announced today at SDCC 2014. No release date has been announced.
In addition to the series, which will air on Disney XD, Guardians characters are also set to pop up in the other (well made and worthwhile) Marvel Universe cartoons that air on the network - Ultimate Spider-Man, Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., and Avengers Assemble.
Here’s Marvel Senior Vice President of Production and Creative Director Eric Radomski on the reasoning behind that:
"With the upcoming movie, we're trying to get them into the minds of everybody who might not know about the Guardians."
While the one minute teaser clip that Marvel screened during their animation panel has not yet been released to the public, CBR has a brief rundown:
“In the clip, Rocket Raccoon, appearing first in silhouette, fights off multiple flying robotic enemies before Starlord shows up, telling him, 'If you're going to hang out with me, you're going to need bigger blasters.'”
At this time, there doesn’t seem to be any other details available with regard to the lineup that will be featured (beyond, we assume, the one that appears in the film) or who will do the voice work for the series, but what we do know that this is a smart business move for Marvel and a boon to young fans who will get a chance to enjoy and fall in love with these characters in a way that has, decades after it became commonplace, not yet lost its charm.
When it comes to introducing kids to comic book characters, does the delivery system really matter? When I was a kid I knew about Superman and Batman from Kenner’s Super Powers Collection action figures. I didn’t pick up a comic until I was an adult, and yet I have always felt a bond with these characters that was strengthened each time I followed them into a new “medium” - from toys to the amazing cartoons like the Super Friendsto movies and finally comics.
When the Guardians of the Galaxy movie was announced, it seemed questionable because while the Guardians had a rich history in comics, they weren’t as familiar to general audiences as Spider-Man and even Iron Man, who had previously been featured in a an underrated cartoon series in the '90s and in various toylines.
We know now that Guardians of the Galaxyis an almost guaranteed blockbuster with a sequel already in the works, but while adults and comic fans will drive the initial wave of success for the film, Marvel (like Walter White) is in the empire business...and that means relying on more than just the appeal of the film to put these characters in people’s minds. That’s why there are multiple toy lines, that’s why there is an ongoing comic series that launched in 2013 and why today’s news about an upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy animated series makes a ton of sense.
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