FILM · 2014 · USA
Guardians of the Galaxy
- Directed by
- James Gunn
- Runtime
- 121 min
- Studio
- Marvel Studios
334 archived facts 8 topics 2 sources Last reviewed Sep 2026
Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser.
Summary: TMDB
229 Interesting Facts About Guardians of the Galaxy
- #001
Dave Bautista burst into tears when he learned he had been cast as Drax the Destroyer, overjoyed at landing a role in a Marvel comic book film. He prepared for the part with an acting coach.
- #005
Chris Pratt apparently stole the Star-Lord costume from the set, keeping it only so that he could wear it when visiting sick children in hospital who might want to meet Star-Lord.
- #007
Bradley Cooper told Howard Stern that he was paid more for voicing Rocket in this film than for Silver Linings Playbook (2012) and The Hangover (2009) combined.
- #008
According to Vin Diesel, the voice of Groot recorded Groot's iconic line "I am Groot" more than a thousand times.
- #010
Zoe Saldaña nearly broke Chris Pratt's ribs while filming a fight scene. During training, Pratt and Saldaña wore protective gear so they could actually hit each other, but on the day the scene was shot Pratt forgot to put his gear on and did not tell Saldaña, thinking she would hold back if she knew. Saldaña kicked him in the ribs, assuming as usual that he was wearing the equipment, and Pratt fell to the ground. According to Pratt, he had a bruise for the rest of the shoot.
- #011
Before the film's release, comic book writer Bill Mantlo, co-creator of Rocket Raccoon, who has been permanently hospitalized since a serious car accident in 1992, was given a private screening by Marvel Entertainment and Walt Disney Pictures. According to his brother Michael Mantlo, Bill was pleased with the adaptation (he is credited by name as the character's creator) and considered the event a happy day for himself and his family. In exchange for the rights to Mantlo's characters, Marvel arranged a compensation package that, according to Michael, ensured Bill would receive the care he needs for the rest of his life.
- #012
Contains a major spoiler — show
At roughly 1 hour and 50 minutes, the mid-credits scene in which Groot dances to "I Want You Back" was animated using footage of James Gunn himself dancing to the song.
- #013
Chris Pratt cites Han Solo and Marty McFly as heroes who influenced his performance as Star-Lord.
- #016
In the comics, Drax is green. For the film, however, his color was changed to a muddier gray, partly because the film already had a bright green character (Gamora), but mostly to distinguish his appearance from the Hulk's (who, coincidentally, was himself gray when he first appeared in the comics).
- #017
James Gunn confirmed on Twitter that Peter Quill's ship in the film is named The Milano, after Peter Quill's childhood crush Alyssa Milano.
- #018
The cassette player Peter Quill uses was a Sony TPS-L2. Released in 1979, it was the first personal cassette player. It was originally called the "Soundabout" and was later renamed the "Walkman."
- #020
Zoe Saldaña wanted to portray Gamora through makeup rather than computer graphics or performance capture.
- #021
James Gunn has said several times that Rocket was a big reason, though not the main reason, he wanted to make the film. In fact, when the film's success was confirmed, Gunn posted a heartfelt thank-you letter online, thanking everyone in particular for allowing a raccoon to make them a little more human.
- #022
Thanos was nearly cut from the film, but James Gunn decided to keep him for his connection to The Avengers (2012).
- #025
Stan Lee's cameo was originally going to show him as one of the Collector's caged trophies and give Groot the middle finger. Disney executives disliked this and had James Gunn change it to Lee as an alien Casanova.
- #026
Contains a major spoiler — show
At roughly 14 minutes, in Ronan the Accuser's first scene, when he kills the Xandarian with his hammer, the blood flows into the pool where Ronan first awakened and is the same color as the liquid he emerged from, revealing that he sleeps entirely bathed in his enemies' blood.
- #027
After filming ended, James Gunn gave Dave Bautista a Drax lunchbox to add to his vintage lunchbox collection. Bautista, in turn, gave Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldaña some special WWE Championship belts.
- #029
When Rocket is arrested, his known associates are listed as Groot and Lylla. Lady Lylla is a sentient otter in the Marvel Universe and Rocket's soulmate. She was eventually set to appear in the third Guardians film.
- #031
(At about 1 hour 28 minutes) Drax's comment about Groot's ability to emit "fireflies" and "When did you learn to do that?" is an inside joke, because Groot never displayed this ability in the comics.
- #033
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the comics, Groot regrows from a twig many times and has the same memories and personality each time, which led fans to think the same would be true in the films. But when this film's sequel was released, James Gunn revealed that Baby Groot has none of the original's memories and is in fact a different being. This means Groot really did die in this film while saving his companions.
- #034
Josh Brolin is not listed in the credits and was in fact the last person cast. He was offered the role during the shooting of Everest (2015). He based Thanos's characterization primarily on Marlon Brando's role as Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now (1979).
- #035
The film revived interest in and demand for personal cassette players, especially classic Walkmans like Peter's.
- #036
Vin Diesel loved his character Groot so much that he wore stilettos and a T-shirt reading "I Am Groot" to promotions and premieres for the film.
- #039
According to James Gunn, the film's music consists mainly of songs from the 1970s and 1980s because they are part of Quill's memories of Earth: "Music is one of the touchstones we need to remind us that Quill is a real human being from the planet Earth, just like you and me, except that he's in this big space adventure."
- #040
Benicio Del Toro's role as The Collector in Thor: The Dark World (2013), for which he was not listed in the credits, was written to set up this film.
- #041
According to the producers, Rocket Raccoon in this film is the product of a unique experiment: "He's a little animal that was taken, experimented on, taken apart and put back together and added cybernetics to; half machine, half raccoon and knobby, a poor, angry creature because there's nothing else like him and that's not an easy thing to be."
- #042
The final title sequence reads "No raccoons or tree creatures were harmed during the making of this film."
- #043
Cosmo, a telepathic dog from the first Soviet space missions and a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy in the comics, has a cameo in the Collector's scenes on Knowhere.
- #044
Bradley Cooper cited Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci's character in GoodFellas (1990)) as an influence on his voice for Rocket Raccoon.
- #046
Rocket Raccoon was modelled on a raccoon named Oreo that lives in England.
- #047
Yondu's primary weapon is a sensitive arrow. In the comics, Yondu was an archer.
- #048
James Gunn felt that using songs from the 1970s would help ground the film in reality and create a fun juxtaposition. In an interview, he explained that he compiled a list of hit songs that appeared on the Billboard charts during that period and narrowed it down to 120 for use in the film. This helped Gunn throughout production, as some scenes were shot around music playing in the background, while other tracks inspired him to write a scene around the song.
- #049
Nebula is Thanos's daughter in the film, but in the comics she is his granddaughter.
- #050
At around 26 minutes in, the blue alien Groot is caught by his nostrils in the Kyln.
- #051
Sales of Blue Swede's "Hooked on a Feeling" increased by seven hundred percent after the premiere of the film's first trailer, in which the song features prominently.
- #052
When Vin Diesel began recording his lines for Groot, he was pleasantly surprised to find himself working with his old friend Doc Kane, the sound technician he had worked with on The Iron Giant (1999).
- #053
Alexandra Byrne was flustered while measuring Djimon Hounsou's costume. She noted that he has such a perfect physique that she could put a puff on him and it would still look beautiful.
- #054
Contains a major spoiler — show
This points to the appearance of the Power Stone (inside the orb Quill steals), the fourth Infinity Stone; the others are the Tesseract (Space), seen in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) and The Avengers (2012), the second being the stone in Loki's scepter (Mind) in The Avengers, and the third being the Aether (Reality), seen in Thor: The Dark World (2013), making Power, Reality, Space and Mind the stones whose locations are known. The Time and Soul Stones remained unknown until the events of Doctor Strange (2016), in which the Time Stone is revealed to be the Ancient One's Eye of Agamotto, and Avengers: Infinity War (2018), in which Nebula reveals to Thanos that the Soul Stone is on the planet Vormir.
- #055
In the film, Yondu is portrayed as a malicious mercenary. In the comics, however, Yondu belongs to a race of tribal warriors.
- #056
Contains a major spoiler — show
"Cherry Bomb" was actually played on set before the final battle as the characters made their epic entrance, to help them get into character. Tyler Bates composed the original music before shooting began so it could be played on set to aid the actors' performances in certain scenes. "Cherry Bomb" is also the name of Howard the Duck's (1986) band. Howard appears in the final shot of the title sequence.
- #057
It is primarily based on the 2008 comic book team (Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon and Groot), but includes Yondu, a member of the original 1969 comic book team, as an ally.
- #058
Benicio Del Toro described the Collector as "Liberace in outer space."
- #059
(At about 5 minutes) The dog seen in the hologram projections above the ruins on Morag is James Gunn's own dog, Wesley Von Spears.
- #060
Nearly all of the Sakaaran voices were performed by James Gunn and assistant director Simon Hatt.
- #061
(At about 52 minutes) Gamora says she doesn't dance. Zoe Saldaña is in fact a professionally trained ballerina.
- #063
(At about 16 minutes) Rocket, one of the Xandarian citizens, scans while searching for a bounty. Lee took this cameo because, although he did not create Guardians of the Galaxy, he is the official co-creator of the character Groot alongside Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers.
- #065
Nicole Perlman is the first woman to receive credit for writing a Marvel screenplay.
- #066
Contains a major spoiler — show
(At about 1 hour 50 minutes) James Gunn explained that Groot freezes when Drax catches him dancing because he knows Drax doesn't approve. Drax's dislike of dancing continues in Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 (2017).
- #067
Chris Pratt felt it was extremely important to "have the physicality of a comic book hero" to play Star-Lord. Growing up he had "always been fascinated with the anatomy of comic book heroes" and always drew them as "cut and ripped," and he felt he needed to look similar to do the role justice.
- #068
There are only six Infinity Stones: Soul, Time, Mind, Space, Power and Reality. Each grants its bearer a specific power: * Soul Stone - allows its owner to manipulate, steal, control and alter any soul (living or dead). Souls can also be trapped in an inner universe called the Soul World. * Time Stone - grants complete control over the past, present and future. The Time Stone also allows its owner to travel through time, change the age of living beings in either direction, and trap enemies (or even the entire universe) in endless time loops. At its full potential, the Time Stone has the capacity to grant omniscience. * Mind Stone - allows universal telepathy. The Mind Stone allows its owner to read and control anyone's (or everyone's) mind. The Mind Stone also allows its owner to project thought to any living being in the universe. * Space Stone - grants its owner the ability to exist in any location (or in all locations at once). The owner of the Space Stone can also move any object anywhere in reality, rearrange space and teleport anywhere in the universe. At its full potential, the Space Stone has the capacity for omniscience. * Power Stone grants full access to all power and energy that exists (this includes all power that has ever existed or will exist). The Power Stone can amplify the effects of the other gems and can duplicate nearly all physical superhuman abilities. At full potential, the Power Stone has the capacity to grant omnipotence. * Reality Stone - allows any wish to be granted even if it contradicts any universal law (with the ability to destroy reality by creating a paradox).
- #069
Karen Gillan shaved her head to prepare for the role of Nebula.
- #072
According to the mid-credits scene of Thor: The Dark World (2013), the Collector already possesses the Reality Infinity Stone and wants to have them all.
- #073
Yondu was originally supposed to be killed at the end of the film.
- #074
Contains a major spoiler — show
Peter Quill learns that he is only half-human, on his mother's side. In the comics his father is J'son, son of the Spartax Emperor; James Gunn said this is not the case in the film, but that Quill's middle name is Jason as a nod to the comics.
- #077
The film contains the first on-screen appearance of the severed head of a Celestial. The Celestials are an ancient race of godlike beings who protect the universe and change it for both good and ill.
- #078
In the film, the Accuser Ronan serves as an Admiral under Thanos. This combines his classic Marvel comics portrayal, a high-ranking Military Governor, with his Marvel Ultimate comics portrayal, an ally of Thanos.
- #079
James Gunn's favorite song is the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back," and he was very happy to have the chance to use it in the film.
- #080
James Gunn compared the Avengers and the Guardians to music groups: "The Avengers are like The Beatles, but the Guardians are like The Rolling Stones!"
- #082
James Gunn discussed the influence of Iron Man (2008) on the film: "We're starting Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is Marvel Cosmic, and we're doing the same thing they did with their first Iron Man movie."
- #083
Before being cast as Yondu, Michael Rooker expressed interest in playing Rocket Raccoon, and a large fan petition was submitted to make it happen.
- #084
Joss Whedon, director of The Avengers (2012), who signed a deal to serve as creative consultant on all Marvel Cinematic Universe films, was excited about James Gunn being chosen to direct.
- #085
According to James Gunn, Star-Lord's ship, the Milano, is based on a race car: "Its surroundings resemble Earth and it has a tangible quality, with chrome and leather and a mechanical, muscular car look."
- #086
Rocket's intake file in the space prison reads: "Warning: Tendency to bite."
- #088
This story about Drax's difficulties with language genuinely caught the interest of an autistic child. Dave Bautista reposted the story on his Facebook page and commented: "I have to say this is pretty awesome and unexpected."
- #089
The trailer included several shots, and a great deal of dialogue, that do not appear in the finished film, such as a topless shot of Zoe Saldaña seen from behind.
- #090
The main city seen from above on Xandar and the ships flown by the Nova Corps bear the same design as the logo on Nova's helmet in the comics, where Nova has close ties to the Guardians.
- #091
Contains a major spoiler — show
In the comics, Peter Quill was born to a human mother and an alien father and took on the role of Star-Lord, an interplanetary policeman. In the film, Peter Quill (Star-Lord) was likewise born in the late 1970s or early 1980s to a human mother, but did not know his father's true, alien identity. He is later abducted and raised by a group of interstellar thieves and smugglers called The Ravagers.
- #092
Contains a major spoiler — show
James Gunn initially planned to include additional scenes in the closing montage set to "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." These included Quill's grandfather looking up at space, the Collector's ruined archives, and Nebula angrily stomping in a field. Only the Collector appeared as a post-credits scene in the film.
- #093
In the unreleased footage shown at 2013 Comic-Con and D23 Expo, Peter Quill flipping off the Nova Corps officers was neither blurred nor accompanied by an "Obscene Gesture Alert" graphic. This was added to the official trailer for general audiences.
- #094
"Guardians of the Galaxy" was first published in January 1969 with a different team. The team in the film also consists of characters who appeared in Marvel Comics before Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977): * Star-Lord appeared in Marvel Preview #4 (January 1976). * Rocket Raccoon appeared in Marvel Preview #7 (Summer 1976). * Gamora appeared in Strange Tales #180 (June 1975). * Drax the Destroyer appeared in Iron Man #55 (February 1973). * Groot appeared in Tales to Astonish #13 (November 1960).
- #095
(At about 1 hour 16 minutes) While devising a plan to stop Ronan, Quill says he has "twelve percent of a plan"; in The Avengers (2012), Tony Stark gives Pepper the same percentage of credit for planning Stark Tower.
- #096
On his Facebook page, James Gunn stated that, unlike most films, Tyler Bates would write some of the music in advance so that Gunn could shoot to the music.
- #097
Adam Sandler, David Tennant, Sharlto Copley, Jim Carrey and H. Jon Benjamin were considered to voice Rocket Raccoon.
- #098
Contains a major spoiler — show
Including Howard the Duck was editor Fred Raskin's idea. James Gunn recalled that Kevin Feige loved it: "He couldn't stop laughing every time he saw it, he was like, 'We're f*****g crazy!'".
- #099
The seven-pointed flame emblem on the Ravagers' clothing was actually the emblem of the original seven members of the 2008 "Guardians of the Galaxy" Marvel comic book that formed the basis of this film.
- #100
The character Yondu is said to have Mohawk-style hair as depicted in the comics, but James Gunn decided not to give his friend Michael Rooker a wig, believing that Rooker's awkwardness would hinder his acting.
- #101
James Gunn once joked about how heavily George Lucas had re-edited the original Star Wars trilogy for re-release. After this film's premiere, Gunn admitted that he wanted to go back and re-edit a few scenes like Lucas.
- #102
Contains a major spoiler — show
At roughly 53 minutes in, this became the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film with no kissing scene; Quill and Gamora nearly kiss on Knowhere before Gamora is pulled away at the last moment.
- #105
The film sets up the third phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, particularly Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
- #106
As of August 2014, the film held the record for the widest August release with more than 4,080 theaters, beating the previous record held by G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009) with 4,007 theaters.
- #107
At roughly 59 minutes in, Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) mocks Quill's backpack and calls it a bag; in The Hangover (2009), Cooper (Phil) mocks Alan's bag and calls it a bag.
- #108
At roughly 57 minutes in, when the Collector shows a record of the previous owners of the Infinity Stones, the being who used the Power Stone to destroy a planet is Eson the Searcher, a Celestial who appeared in the 1977 comic book Eternals #9.
- #109
The Badoon (recurring enemies of the Guardians in the comics) could not be used because their rights belonged to 20th Century Fox's Fantastic Four series, although supplementary materials proved their presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Sakaarans were used to fill the gap.
- #110
Bradley Cooper (Rocket) and Zoe Saldaña (Gamora) played a couple in the romantic film The Words (2012) and were in an off-screen relationship until shortly before production on this film began.
- #111
Contains a major spoiler — show
At roughly 34 minutes in, when Rocket asks Quill for the prisoner's prosthetic leg, you can hear Rocket chuckle slightly.
- #112
The Collector and Carina first appeared in the mid-credits scene of Thor: The Dark World (2013).
- #113
It was the first non-Avengers Marvel property developed by Walt Disney Pictures.
- #114
It became the highest-grossing film of the summer of 2014 in North American box office revenue and the first August film to top summer ticket revenue since ticket sales began being regularly tabulated in the mid-1970s.
- #115
Dave Bautista left WWE to promote the film.
- #116
James Gunn calls the shot of Rocket reaching out to grab Drax's hand during the Infinity Stone vortex "the Michelangelo shot."
- #117
At roughly 57 minutes in, while the Collector shows the Guardians the history of the Infinity Stone, Groot puts his fingers into the hologram of the Tesseract (also an Infinity Stone).
- #118
According to James Gunn, the tag at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), with Baron Von Strucker and the twins, was actually this film's tag, but the scene was used for The Winter Soldier instead.
- #119
Laura Haddock, who plays Quill's mother, has a small role in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) as a fan asking for an autograph. However, James Gunn maintains that there is no connection between the characters.
- #121
The Other, voiced by Alexis Denisof, first appeared in The Avengers (2012). He was the one who gave Loki the scepter containing the Mind Stone (confirmed in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)). He also appeared in the post-credits scene that introduced Thanos.
- #123
Contains a major spoiler — show
James Gunn addresses the science of the scene in which Quill catches Gamora, with both of them exposed to the vacuum of space. They consulted NASA for it and determined that a person could survive this exposure and would not actually explode, which is confirmed here.
- #124
In the comics, Peter Quill has often been the significant other of the X-Men heroine Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat).
- #125
(At about the 55th minute) When the Collector is first seen, one of the Dark Elves from Thor: The Dark World (2013) lies inside the glass case behind Carina.
- #126
The film states that the Collector's assistant (Ophelia Lovibond) is Carina. In the comics, the Collector's daughter was named Carina Walters.
- #127
Contains a major spoiler — show
The orb Quill steals contains one of the Infinity Stones, specifically the Power Stone. In the 1990s comics, Drax was a member of the Infinity Watch (alongside Adam Warlock, Gamora, Moondragon and Pip the Troll). Each member of the Watch guarded one of the stones: Adam Warlock - the Soul Stone; Gamora - the Time Stone; Moondragon - the Mind Stone; Pip the Troll - the Space Stone; Drax the Destroyer - the Power Stone; Thanos - the Reality Stone (revealed as its secret guardian in "The Infinity Crusade").
- #128
The miniature of Thanos in the final title sequence of The Avengers (2012) and the miniature of the Collector in Thor: The Dark World (2013) set the stage for this film.
- #130
James Gunn paid tribute to his first horror comedy, Slither (2006). That film was about a small town invaded by slimy alien slugs that take over bodies. They reappear here in a cameo as part of the Collector's collection.
- #132
(At about 1 hour 19 minutes) Before the final "big battle" scene, the Guardians stand together in a circle and one by one rise and verbally commit to joining Quill's mission. When Rocket stands up, he distinctly performs what is known in the Star Trek universe as the "Picard Maneuver." He stands and pulls down the top of his uniform with both hands (or paws), possibly to make it fit nicely, or more likely to make sure his shirt hasn't ridden up out of his shirt. It is unknown whether this is a deliberate salute to the Trekkers in the audience, but most Picard fans are likely to notice it in the film.
- #133
The Nova Corps world of Xandar is mainly based on the designs of the modern Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.
- #135
Peyton Reed was considered to direct this film. He was later chosen to direct another Marvel Cinematic Universe film, Ant-Man (2015).
- #136
Contains a major spoiler — show
When Rocket tells Gamora he needs one of the guards' security bands to escape the Kyln, Gamora looks up and there is a cut to the guard telling the other prisoners to kill Gamora in the shower. Of course, the implant he has is the implant Gamora takes.
- #137
(At about 25 minutes in) As Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket and Groot enter the prison, they are met by a row of angry prisoners standing on a balcony; on the left of the screen, Kaufman shouts "Murderer!" at Star-Lord.
- #138
According to producer Victoria Alonso, Rocket Raccoon and Groot were created with a combination of motion capture and rotoscoping visual effects.
- #139
While attending the 18th Nantucket Film Festival, Glenn Close said she accepted a role in the film only because "it will then afford me to go do the other kind of movies that I really love." She continued: "And hopefully I'll have a great time. It's going to be a new experience for me, but in practical terms it will mean I can do the smaller films and it won't be a problem."
- #140
A Missouri state flag is visible next to the nurse's desk where Peter Quill sits at the beginning of the film. James Gunn was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri.
- #141
Initially the film cut directly from young Peter Quill to his abduction on Morag years later. Test audiences found this especially jarring, so Kevin Feige suggested inserting the Marvel Studios logo between the two scenes to help balance the shift in tone.
- #142
Because Rocket's face is so far from a human face, neither Rocket nor Groot was actually mo-capped; they were animated instead. Sean Gunn, who plays Kraglin, performed Rocket's motion-reference actions for the effects, and the animators also used Bradley Cooper's movements in the voice booth as reference.
- #143
Along with the Millennium Bridge in London being used as a location on Xandar, aerial shots include other features of the London skyline such as 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin).
- #146
Contains a major spoiler — show
The main strategy the heroes use with their spaceships, trying to stop the enemy before it reaches the ground, was inspired by Space Invaders (1981).
- #147
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) take place four years before Avengers: Infinity War (2018).
- #148
The film was released twenty-eight years after Howard the Duck (1986). The title character appears in its post-credits scene.
- #149
Contains a major spoiler — show
According to Kevin Feige, each of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 2 films pays tribute to the Star Wars film series with a character losing an arm (Anakin Skywalker lost his hand in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), and Luke Skywalker lost his hand in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)): Iron Man 3 (2013) - Aldrich Killian loses his arm during the fight with Tony Stark. Thor: The Dark World (2013) - Loki cuts off Thor's right arm on Svartalfheim. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) - Bucky loses his left arm as he falls from the train. Guardians of the Galaxy - Gamora cuts off Groot's arms during the group's first scuffle on Xandar, and Nebula cuts off her own hand to get away from Gamora. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) - Ultron cuts off Ulysses Klaue's right arm.
- #150
At around 22 minutes, during Rocket's lineup, it lists Phyla-Vell, known by the alias Quasar (Captain Marvel) in the comics. She is also the lover of Drax's daughter.
- #151
Before deciding to cast a celebrity to voice the character, James Gunn interviewed many voice actors for Rocket Raccoon.
- #152
Zoe Saldana had trouble pronouncing "Thanos" and needed James Gunn's direction in most of her scenes.
- #153
HIDDEN MICKEY: (at about 1 hour 50 minutes) At the end of the film, as the ship takes off, you can see three suns in the distance that resemble the silhouette of Mickey Mouse's head.
- #154
The fourth installment of Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- #155
The first film of 2014 to gross over 300 million dollars in the United States.
- #156
The map device Quill uses to find the orb was actually given to him by The Broker. This was explained in dialogue that was later cut, along with the explanation that Morag is an ancient planet with an advanced civilization that was destroyed when global warming raised sea levels. The seas receded every 300 years, which was the window in which Quill had the opportunity to steal the orb.
- #157
Thanos's movement was captured from Josh Brolin's performance. James Gunn suggests the character appear in the film but also acknowledges that this builds a larger story.
- #159
Contains a major spoiler — show
When Rocket, after his fight with Drax on Knowhere, breaks down and shouts that he doesn't want to be torn apart, torn apart, put back together over and over and turned into a monster, Gamora looks sympathetic. She would know what that is like, since it was revealed in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 that this was done to her and Nebula by Thanos after they failed a mission to "improve" them. It was done to Nebula more than to Gamora, which is part of Nebula's hostility toward Gamora and her hatred of Thanos.
- #161
Peter Quill speaks fondly of the actor Kevin Bacon to the other Guardians. In Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022), the other Guardians try to cheer Peter up by kidnapping Kevin Bacon and bringing him to Peter as a Christmas present.
- #162
At the beginning of the film, the alien girl Bereet on Quill's ship can be seen in the film's final battle saving a little girl from being killed.
- #163
Contains a major spoiler — show
James Gunn suggested that Yondu knew Quill had swapped the orb as he was leaving but did not want to have to kill Quill.
- #164
As of December 2014, it was the highest-rated Marvel film on IMDb.com. Since then, Avengers: Infinity War (2018) has overtaken it.
- #165
The T-shirt worn by young Peter Quill (Wyatt Oleff) (and later by Bereet (Melia Kreiling)) was designed for the fictional J. D. Kano Rental on the real Dolores River in Colorado.
- #166
At around 46 minutes, James Gunn reportedly cut several scenes so that Chris Pratt's extremely adult "Jackson Pollock" joke could get through in editing.
- #167
James Gunn and Chris Pratt collaborated on a joke interpretation of Jackson Pollock, never expecting such an obscene reference to make it into the final film. However, Chris Pratt convinced Kevin Feige to include it during a test screening, and it got the biggest laugh in the entire film.
- #169
In Marvel Comics, Peter Quill (Star-Lord) has a sentient ship that communicates with him telepathically. The "widget" that stands beside him is also part of the ship. The ship also has a human-looking 3D avatar.
- #170
Because of certain similarities between the characters, James Gunn was asked on Twitter in 2016 whether he had seen Farscape (1999). He said that among all television programs, Farscape (1999) was the one that influenced Guardians the most.
- #173
This film and Guardians of the Galaxy 2 are the only MCU films that have their opening title sequence during the film. The rest have theirs at the end.
- #175
Karen Gillan was said to be playing Angela, the sword-wielding bounty hunter also from the "Guardians of the Galaxy" comics. Instead, however, she plays the villainous cyborg Nebula.
- #177
James Gunn's set PA was a girl named Brittany, the daughter of one of the members of Iron Maiden. Benecio Del Toro was wearing an Iron Maiden shirt on set, and Gunn pointed out the connection between them. Del Toro then wanted to take a few photos with her.
- #178
The film takes place in 1988 and 2014.
- #179
It is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film without Iron Man to gross over 300 million dollars in the US.
- #180
Hugh Laurie, Alan Rickman and Ken Watanabe were considered for roles. Had Rickman been cast, it would have been one of his last films before his death in 2016.
- #182
Glenn Howerton was James Gunn's second choice to play Peter Quill.
- #183
Contains a major spoiler — show
(At about 1 minute) Early in the film, Peter's mother foreshadows Peter's alien parentage (and why Yondu took Peter) by describing Peter's father as "an angel that came down from the stars" and saying he would come to take Peter when he left. Later, when Peter voices his doubts about going along with Ego, Gamora reassures him with "if he turns out to be evil, we'll just kill him."
- #184
When interviewed by Kaşif Bogart, Dave Bautista puts forward the theory that Drax shares Filipino origins and explains that Drax's skill with knives makes him "a Kali guru."
- #185
Vin Diesel and Dave Bautista both appeared in Riddick (2013).
- #186
James Gunn wanted Rom the Space Knight to appear in the film but could not do it because Marvel did not hold the rights to the character (which now belongs to Hasbro, after it bought Parker Brothers).
- #187
Nebula first appeared in The Avengers #257 in July 1985.
- #188
In the film, Thanos is searching for the Infinity Stones. The same storyline was depicted in the limited series "Thanos Quest" (published in 1990), in which Thanos takes all the Stones and becomes a god.
- #189
In Footloose (1984), many characters mention Kevin Bacon. Bacon played villain roles in both the Marvel Comics film X-Men: First Class (2011) and the James Gunn film Super (2010).
- #191
The film had more A'askavari jokes, and James Gunn cut them for timing reasons. He regrets it, however, because Rocket was so distracted that Quill would have slept with an A'askavariian.
- #192
This is the second Marvel film of 2014 to feature a Marvin Gaye song in a montage near the end of the film. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) has "Trouble Man," while this film has "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."
- #193
HIDDEN MICKEY: At around the 50th minute, when the Guardians arrive on Knowhere to sell the orb, the roof of the Collector's club resembles the Mickey Mouse ears found in Disney parks.
- #194
During production, James Gunn began to worry at one point that he was making the next The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002).
- #195
Because Chris Pratt is 1.92 meters tall, finding physically imposing actors to play opposite him was difficult.
- #196
Drax and Groot fight in Knowhere because Rocket was mocking Drax's tattoos honoring his family.
- #197
James Gunn says it is unlikely Cosmo the Dog will become a Guardian in future films, because a real dog with real fur would create difficulties sharing the screen with a CGI raccoon with CGI fur.
- #198
When Groot pierces Drax's lung, in what James Gunn called "the grossest 3D shot in the film," they let the yellow vomit spray out of the side of the frame so it would appear to be coming toward your face.
- #202
(At about 1 hour 40 minutes) Near the end, Star-Lord calls Ronan "turd blossom," the nickname George W. Bush affectionately used for Karl Rove.
- #203
Quill sleeping in a pile of prisoners was inspired by Locked Up Abroad, one of James Gunn's favorite series, in which he noticed that prisoners outside the US are generally not given their own cells and bunks.
- #205
It was the highest-grossing Marvel film of 2014.
- #206
Benicio Del Toro returned as the Collector in Avengers: Infinity War (2018).
- #207
Contains a major spoiler — show
(At about 20 minutes) When Peter Quill/Star-Lord is arrested, Corpsman Dey (John C. Reilly) mistakenly calls him "Star-Prince." Later, while looking at the important moments of the arrested, the information on screen says Quill's nickname is "Space-Lord." This was probably also entered incorrectly by Corpsman Dey.
- #208
Writer/director James Gunn wanted to create a bright, colorful space opera reminiscent of the fun films he watched as a child, such as The Empire Strikes Back, before most of the color was stripped out of space films.
- #210
The red-skinned woman on Peter Quill's (Chris Pratt) ship, Bereet (Melia Kreiling), is a nod to the "Rampaging Hulk" comic story. She was an alien who helped Hulk and Rick Jones stop an alien invasion.
- #211
James Gunn often gives his friends roles in small parts of his films. Many of his personal friends became Ravagers in Yondu's crew.
- #212
In a deleted scene, Gamora mentions that she was adopted by Thanos. This is finally shown in Avengers: Infinity War (2018), when Thanos takes over Gamora's planet and takes her under his wing.
- #213
Glen Campbell's "Wichita Lineman" and Three Dog Night's "Mama Told Me Not To Come" were considered for the Guardians' trip to Knowhere before David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream" was chosen.
- #214
Chris Pratt (Star-Lord) and Peter Serafinowicz (Denarian Saal) both appeared in Parks and Recreation (2009), where their characters share many similarities.
- #215
The French dub is more polite and child-friendly than the original version worldwide.
- #216
Contains a major spoiler — show
Benicio Del Toro did not know he would be looking at Howard the Duck when he shot the post-credits scene.
- #218
Quill's mother's voice-over was recorded in the back of a car so that Chris Pratt could hear it while on set.
- #219
The film reunites Michael Rooker, Gregg Henry, Nathan Fillion, Rob Zombie and Lloyd Kaufman, who appeared in James Gunn's first feature film Slither (2006) and Super (2010). Gunn also played small roles in all of the films.
- #220
The film was made to bring the cosmic characters into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- #221
This film, its sequels Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) are the most irreverent films in the MCU. They are the only four films to include the expletive "fuck," among other irreverent words.
- #224
The "12% scene" had 11½ hours of raw footage.
- #225
When they enter the prison, Quill initially sings "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers" while telling Rocket that he is the only one of his kind.
- #227
Amanda Seyfried said on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast in 2020 that she turned down playing Gamora because she did not think anyone would want to watch a film "about a talking tree and a raccoon."
- #228
The film's cast includes two Oscar winners, Benicio Del Toro and Zoe Saldaña, and six Oscar-nominated actors: Glenn Close, Bradley Cooper, Josh Brolin, Djimon Hounsou and John C. Reilly.
- #230
Both Gregg Henry and Michael Rooker have appeared in every James Gunn film. Gunn has always been a fan of Rooker's Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986), which deeply affected him in his youth.
- #231
In the comics, Quill's father is J'son. However, Gunn dislikes the name J'son, so he suggests that the father is someone else, without revealing his name publicly because it is being saved for the sequel.
- #232
Yondu and the Ravagers call the planet Earth "Terra" (Latin). Coincidentally, Earth is also given this name in Italian (though those who live there are called "Terrestri," not Terrans).
- #233
This is the second film featuring John C. Reilly that includes an "Awesome Mix" cassette. The first was Boogie Nights (1997).
- #234
Drax (Dave Bautista) has a red skull image on his left arm.
- #236
Drax never wears a shirt throughout the entire film.
- #237
(About 23 minutes in) After checking in at the Kyln, Quill says the Orb has a real "shiny blue suitcase, Ark of the Covenant, Maltese Falcon feel." All three are film references: Kiss Me Deadly (1955), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and The Maltese Falcon (1941).
- #238
A song that never made the final cut of the original script exists, but it is available on the Blu-Ray release as a deleted scene featuring the Scottish pop group Pilot (1972) - "Magic". The scene (cut) shows the big blue guardian dancing to the song in the prison and scaring people. It comes just before one of the guards says "Take her down to the showers… it'll be easier to clean up the blood that way". Because it is a deleted scene, the song is not included on the soundtrack.
- #241
The Kree are explored more extensively in the series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It is revealed that they are the ones who created the Inhumans. They also appear prominently in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Far From Home and Captain Marvel.
- #242
It is included in "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.
- #244
This is the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to have more than an hour of footage specially formatted for IMAX.
- #245
Chromatic glass cubes can be seen during the Broker scenes. They were created by California-based glass artist Jack Storm.
- #248
Vin Diesel (Groot) has worked with 4 WWE superstars; Dave Bautista (Drax) in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Dwayne Johnson (Hobbs) in Fast & Furious 5-8 (2011-2017), Ronda Rousey (Kara) in Fast & Furious 7 (2015) and John Cena (Jacob) in Fast & Furious 9 (2021).
- #249
The film has three collaborators who voiced villains in the Star Wars universe: * Peter Serafinowicz (playing Denarian Saal) voiced Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). * Supervising sound editor Matthew Wood provided the voice of General Grievous in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). * Seth Green, who voices Howard the Duck, voiced the enemy service droid Todo 360 in various episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008). Benicio Del Toro, who plays the Collector in this film, was supposed to play Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) before leaving, and later appeared as DJ in Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017).
- #250
Many features of modern London, England, including the Millennium Bridge and the buildings known as the Shard and the Gherkin, can be seen in Xandar.
- #251
(At around 15 minutes) Quill calls his group a "bunch of losers". Zoe Saldaña (Gamora) had previously appeared in the comic book film The Losers (2010) alongside Chris Evans (Captain America) and Idris Elba (Heimdall from Thor).
- #252
On August 14, 2017, more than three years after the film's release, Karen Gillan admitted in an interview that she wanted to join the cinematic DC comic universe as a female version of the Joker.
- #253
Fans famously try to solve all the hidden secrets of the first film, and whenever someone thinks they have made progress, James Gunn shakes their confidence and explains that it is wrong. However, as he also stated in this latest tweet, many people seem to be on the right track to finally solving this mystery. But all of this could change with a re-release of the first film, as Gunn recently said he wanted to try. When a fan asked whether there were any songs he could not get the rights to for Guardians of the Galaxy, the director explained that there were only songs he had cut from the film. "I licensed every song I wanted (although I looked into Never Been to Spain for the first film and the price tag scared me from even thinking about it)," Gunn replied. "And as everyone knows, both Pilot's Magic and ELO's Livin' Thing scenes were cut from the first film (I actually regret cutting the Livin' Thing montage)." He later added that he wanted to re-release the film with the Electric Light Orchestra song he had cut from the first sequence. "It's a dream of mine to do a rerelease of GotG Vol 1 with Livin' Thing and a couple of other small additions," Gunn responded on Twitter.
- #254
Michael Mann expressed his admiration for the Guardians of the Galaxy films: "The reason their work is, is because they have a really well-prepared story structure behind them. So it's exciting in the sense of being able to expand into legend that way and create legend. I think it's a very exciting tool."
- #255
(At around 8 minutes) Peter Quill calls one of Korath's guards a Ninja Turtle. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) was released on August 8, shortly after the film's release. When the Turtles held their spot for two consecutive weeks and returned to number one in US box office, an advertisement released for the film edited the "Ninja Turtle" line to "Take that, Ninja Turtle!"
- #256
On the Blu-ray version of the film, the main menu shows Quill's cassette player on the Milano. Three "trading cards" are placed on the left side of the player and two on the right. The ones on the left are Rocket, Drax and Groot (in that order from top to bottom), while the ones on the right are Gamora and Star-Lord. The three frames on the left are from when the Guardians are booked on Xandar; on the right, Gamora is shown in a scene near the end of the film while hunting Ronan, and Star-Lord's shot is from the beginning of the film, while searching for the orb on Morag.
- #257
Chris Pratt played Bright Abbott on the television series Everwood (2002). His sister on the show, Amy Abbott, was played by Emily VanCamp, who portrayed S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Kate (Agent 13) in Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014).
- #258
The role of Yondu was actually written with Michael Rooker in mind.
- #259
Four actors had previously been considered for other Marvel roles: Vin Diesel for the role of Daredevil, or for Bullseye in Daredevil (2003); John C. Reilly for the Thing in Fantastic Four (2005); Djimon Hounsou for the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) and for Black Panther in the then-unmade third Fantastic Four film; and Chris Pratt for an unknown role in Thor (2011), possibly Fandral.
- #260
Vin Diesel and Michael Rooker both provided voice work in The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (2004).
- #261
This is Brendan Fehr's second appearance in a film adapted from a Marvel comic. The first was X-Men: First Class (2011), where he played a Communications Officer aboard a US Navy ship. Kevin Bacon, who appeared in "First Class," is also prominently mentioned in this film.
- #262
Djimon Hounsou had previously appeared in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life (2003), a film that also centered on the search for a sphere with the power to destroy the world.
- #264
Robert Firth plays Dr. Fitzgibbon, an officer in the film's opening scenes. The character is named after a personal friend of James Gunn's; there is a Fitzgibbon in every one of his films. Unfortunately for Firth, his scenes were cut in the final edit. He plays another doctor, Dr. Stillwell, in Oliver Stone's thriller Snowden (2016). Fortunately, some of Firth's performance still remains in this film.
- #266
The film establishes the Marvel Cosmic Universe films set in space within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- #267
Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket, Drax, Groot and Yondu are characters in the video game Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes (2014).
- #268
(At around 52 minutes) While Quill and Gamora are on Knowhere listening to his Walkman, the entranceway behind them looks very much like a large ARC reactor of the kind Iron Man uses.
- #269
To date, it is the only MCU film for which Moving Picture Company provided the visual effects.
- #270
Contains a major spoiler — show
Seth Green reprised the role of Howard the Duck from Ultimate Spider-Man (2012) in the multi-part "Return to the Spider-Verse" series.
- #271
James Gunn was hired by Kevin Feige to direct this film after Feige watched and liked the unsold pilot for Sparky & Mikaela (2008), which James directed and which also featured a talking raccoon.
- #272
Thanos was the main villain in Nicole Perlman's original script draft, but James Gunn reduced his role at Joss Whedon's request because Whedon felt "we need to thread him in more gently."
- #273
When Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind opened at EPCOT, nearly every song from the film was included in the ride's onboard music.
- #274
This was James Gunn's first shared screenwriting credit in 12 years, since Scooby-Doo (2002). It was also his last shared writing credit for 12 years, until Coyote vs. Acme (2026).
- #275
After the box office failure of Super (2010), James Gunn wanted to quit directing films. Kevin Feige contacted Gunn's manager to have Gunn direct Guardians of the Galaxy immediately after Gunn told him he wanted to quit directing.
- #276
The writers of Parks and Recreation (2009) planned an episode in the seventh season in which Andy Dwyer would take off his shirt, but the idea had to be dropped after Chris Pratt gained the physique to play Star-Lord in this film. Showrunner Michael Schur said: "Andy is not a guy who has a perfectly constructed human form with ripped abs and gigantic biceps."
- #277
Visual joke: at 10:31, during the first escape, the scene breaks the fourth wall; when his ship, caught by the spotlight, reaches the top and hits the "camera" and begins to fall back, a distinct thud is heard. In addition to this illusion, there also appear to be water droplets on the camera lens.
- #279
Tony Todd was a fan favorite to play Ronan the Accuser.
- #281
This was Chris Pratt's second comic book film after Wanted (2008).
- #282
On the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Dan Trachtenberg revealed that he was once a candidate for the director's chair. "I'll say that I met with [Marvel Studios] and [Kevin Feige] because of a producer named Jeremy Latcham, before James Gunn, to meet for Guardians of the Galaxy, based on my short film Portal [No Escape] (via The Playlist). They said, 'This creator, let's find someone interesting and cool.' Obviously and rightfully I didn't get the job, but it was still really great."
- #285
Contains a major spoiler — show
Seth Green had previously appeared in Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (2004), which was also written by James Gunn.
- #287
The "Roundhouse" prison is designed as a panopticon, allowing the guards to see every cell. The design was inspired by real-world prisons of this type, the last surviving one being Statesville Prison in Crest Hill, Illinois, near Chicago. Although the prison closed in 2016, the structure still stands because of its historical value. In the black-and-white documentary drama Call Northside 777 (1948), a fine view of the interior can be seen for roughly forty minutes of the film.
- #288
Vin Diesel and Nathan Fillion had previously appeared together in Saving Private Ryan (1998), which was the first Hollywood film for both of them.
- #290
The screens on the Ravagers' ship, seen as the Guardians plan their attack on Ronan, use the same colors as the screens in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).
- #291
Dave Bautista and Karen Gillan are enemies in this film, but they appeared together as police officers working as partners in Stuber (2019).
- #292
One of the Kyln prison guards is played by Emmett J. Scanlan.
- #293
Ronan was inspired by Monsignor Russell J. Obmann.
- #294
The character Beret, who appears briefly on Quill's spaceship, first appeared in The Rampaging Hulk #1, one of Marvel Comics' black-and-white magazines from the 1970s. There, he is an alien who comes to Earth to prevent the invasion of his people.
- #295
Jake Schreier was considered to direct. Coincidentally, he went on to direct Thunderbolts* (2025), which James Gunn had initially wanted to direct.
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