Happy New Year, Marvel fans!


Disney on Tuesday released a first look at their highly anticipated “Guardians of the Galaxy,” offering a sneak peek at the intergalactic film. In the image, Chris Pratt lines up with Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel and WWE superstar Dave Bautista.


And if you’ve been waiting with bated breath for an official synopsis of the film, take a deep inhale. It’s here:


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.



Disney also unveiled its official 2014 film slate, with “Guardians of the Galaxy” set to hit theaters in the heart of Blockbuster season on August 1. Also on tap for the new year is “Need For Speed” (out March 14), “Muppets Most Wanted” (March 24), “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (April 4), “Maleficent” (May 30) and “Into the Woods” (December 25).


In a recent interview with MTV News, Saldana, the actress behind Gamora, called “Guardians” “a new way to view superheroes.”


“I love, sometimes, the consistency of what the classics have left behind, but I need innovation. You can only have so much of ‘I’ll save you,’ ” she said. “After a while, it’s like, ‘Oh god. Does he go to the bathroom? Is he hungry? Does he cry? Does he feel?’ Not only do we cover that, but we’re making heroes out of thieves, and they’re Robin Hoods. These characters are absolutely amazing, and they have a full-blown redemption.”





And her praises don’t stop there.


“To be able sink your teeth into such meaty characters and to be part of such a story that is very unique and obviously has everything that I love,” she continued. “It has space. It has a kooky director. It literally has cojones. It has amazing actors that you would have never thought to put them together. Somehow, we’re all here giving 150 percent and loving the story that we’re doing.”