Fresh off of its extremely well-received press screenings this past weekend, Marvel Studios' Guardians Of The Galaxy is only adding fuel to the fandom fire with each passing moment! There is only a little over a week to go before the movie opens, and the world seems ready for the film that once seemed a tough sell for some viewers. However, there might be some out there who need more than a little convincing. These are the hold-outs, the joyless people who are so dead set on going into this film like a Grumpy Cat stunt double that they don't even crack a smile when they see the commercials on TV. If you're one of these people, then perhaps you need to sit down and watch this extended clip.
Cosmic Book News has brought us the video above, which is about 5 minutes long and includes a more detailed look at the Guardians during their time at The Kyln – a rather infamous space prison. We've seen parts of all three sequences the clip has to show us before, but we get to see more detail into how the entire sequence will move. New details include Rocket's ignorance of his existence as a raccoon (as well as the hardware that's given him his intelligence), Groot's catchphrase starting to wear thin on Star Lord, and a good smattering of jailhouse action.
It might feel like this is a lot of footage to be revealing - especially with such a short window between now and Guardians Of The Galaxy's release date - but I think this is the perfect sized appetizer for those who are curious about how exactly this film will work and didn't get to make it out to the 17 minute first look event a couple weeks back. Marvel and Disney can't be too careful with how they sell this flick, as it's meant to be an Avengers style hub film for the Marvel Cosmic universe. The clip wisely avoids spoilers and stays in what's presumably first or second act territory, but it also gives the audience enough to chew over in terms of what we're about to see.
Also in the extended look is the first mention of Thanos (by name, at least) in the context of the actual Marvel Cinematic Universe. While we (naturally) don't get a good look at his face, we do hear the story of how Nebula and Gamora are both on loan to Ronan The Accuser, which has the Nova Corps suspicious that the two titans are working together through Thanos' daughters. But perhaps the most effective moment of this clip, at least in my opinion, is the moment that we see Star Lord notice Rocket's aforementioned hardware. You can cue up your video to 03:23, if you want to see what I'm talking about.
While we're treated to a montage of the Guardians Of The Galaxy being processed into The Kyln, we see Peter notice Rocket's "enhancements" with an initial look of disgust that turns to pity. Despite being a bunch of smart-assed mercenaries, the Guardians are also lifeforms with natural emotions and motivations. With big budget comic movies, it's easy to forget your characters in the shuffle of explosions and world building, but thankfully Marvel has been pretty fortunate in that department, as they've picked writers and directors like James Gunn to steer the ship in the right way. It's a small moment, but it's one that has me excited for Mr. Gunn's first big ticket picture.
Guardians Of The Galaxy hits theaters on August 1st, and it can't come a day too soon.
