Guardians of the Galaxy

References

Images

Movie still from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) showing Gamora, Star-Lord, Rocket, Drax, and Groot standing in a police lineup against a lit background.

Concept art of the Guardians of the Galaxy team from the 2014 film, featuring Drax, Groot, Star-Lord, Rocket, and Gamora in action poses on a rocky ledge.

Guardians of the Galaxy

film by Gunn [2014]

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 21, 2026

Quick Summary

Movie still from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) showing Gamora, Star-Lord, Rocket, Drax, and Groot standing in a police lineup against a lit background. — Guardians of the Galaxy (From left) Gamora (played by Zoe Saldana), Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) from the film Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), directed by James Gunn.

Guardians of the Galaxy is a 2014 American superhero film directed by James Gunn. It is based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name and is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The film follows a group of unlikely heroes—Peter Quill (Star-Lord), Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Groot, and Rocket Raccoon—who must band together to stop a fanatical warrior from finding the Infinity Stones and destroying the galaxy. The movie is known for its humor, action, and its use of popular music from the 1970s and 1980s. The film was a critical and commercial success, leading to two sequels and the characters appearing in other Marvel films.123

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

3 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Dave Bautista
Acting
…mercenary Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy, part of the Marvel franchise. Bautista would portray Drax in several other films, including two Guardians of the Galaxy sequels and a holiday special (2017, 2023, and 2022, respectively) and other Marvel films including Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers:
Read More
…mercenary Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy, part of the Marvel franchise. Bautista would portray Drax in several other films, including two Guardians of the Galaxy sequels and a holiday special (2017, 2023, and 2022, respectively) and other Marvel films including Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers:
Read More

Josh Brolin
Sicario and The Avengers series
…introduced as the character in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and later appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Read More
…introduced as the character in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and later appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Read More

Glenn Close
Film and television
…force in the sci-fi adventure Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). Her film credits from 2017 included Crooked House, an adaptation of an Agatha Christie mystery; the comedy Father Figures; and The Wife, for which she earned rave reviews—as well as an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Award—playing the supportive…
Read More
…force in the sci-fi adventure Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). Her film credits from 2017 included Crooked House, an adaptation of an Agatha Christie mystery; the comedy Father Figures; and The Wife, for which she earned rave reviews—as well as an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Award—playing the supportive…
Read More

Bradley Cooper
…other credits from 2014 included Guardians of the Galaxy, in which he voiced the computer-animated character Rocket; he reprised the role in the sequel (2017) and in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). In 2015 he starred in a series of movies, most notably Burnt, about a chef…
Read More
…other credits from 2014 included Guardians of the Galaxy, in which he voiced the computer-animated character Rocket; he reprised the role in the sequel (2017) and in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019). In 2015 he starred in a series of movies, most notably Burnt, about a chef…
Read More

Benicio Del Toro
Later roles
…appeared in such blockbusters as Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), and Avengers: Infinity War (2018). Del Toro then portrayed one of a pair of inmates who plan a breakout from a maximum-security prison with the help of an employee in Escape at Dannemora (2018),…
Read More
…appeared in such blockbusters as Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), and Avengers: Infinity War (2018). Del Toro then portrayed one of a pair of inmates who plan a breakout from a maximum-security prison with the help of an employee in Escape at Dannemora (2018),…
Read More

Vin Diesel
…the treelike superhero Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), its sequel (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Read More
…the treelike superhero Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), its sequel (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019).
Read More

James Gunn
Ups and downs at Marvel: Guardians of the Galaxy
…Gunn to cowrite and direct Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), featuring a ragtag group of space-traveling characters who were fairly unknown to casual moviegoing audiences at the time. Gunn juggled a catalog of oddball characters, including half-human space outlaw Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), aliens Gamora and Drax (Zoe Saldaña and…
Read More
…Gunn to cowrite and direct Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), featuring a ragtag group of space-traveling characters who were fairly unknown to casual moviegoing audiences at the time. Gunn juggled a catalog of oddball characters, including half-human space outlaw Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), aliens Gamora and Drax (Zoe Saldaña and…
Read More

Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy, a film based on the Abnett and Lanning run, was released to widespread popular and critical acclaim in 2014; a sequel followed in 2017. The Guardians traveled to Earth to join other members of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the blockbusters…
Read More
Guardians of the Galaxy, a film based on the Abnett and Lanning run, was released to widespread popular and critical acclaim in 2014; a sequel followed in 2017. The Guardians traveled to Earth to join other members of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the blockbusters…
Read More

Marvel Comics
The Marvel universe
…unknown heroes such as the Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Ant-Man (2015), and Doctor Strange (2016). In addition, Black Panther (2018) became the first Marvel movie to win an Academy Award; it received Oscars for costume design, original score, and production design. By 2023 more than 30
Read More
…unknown heroes such as the Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Ant-Man (2015), and Doctor Strange (2016). In addition, Black Panther (2018) became the first Marvel movie to win an Academy Award; it received Oscars for costume design, original score, and production design. By 2023 more than 30
Read More

Chris Pratt
Powering up with Marvel and later works
…Quill/Star-Lord in the space western Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), based on a minor Marvel Comics story line. The movie was an enormous hit, and it made Pratt an undeniable star. He played the role again in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame…
Read More
…Quill/Star-Lord in the space western Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), based on a minor Marvel Comics story line. The movie was an enormous hit, and it made Pratt an undeniable star. He played the role again in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame…
Read More

Zoe Saldaña
Rise to stardom with big franchise roles
…Gamora in the sci-fi/superhero blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), a role she reprised for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). She reprised her role as Neytiri in the box office blockbuster Avatar: The…
Read More
…Gamora in the sci-fi/superhero blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), a role she reprised for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). She reprised her role as Neytiri in the box office blockbuster Avatar: The…
Read More