Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 doesn’t hit theaters until 2017, but Disney has never been one to pass up an opportunity to cash in on a property, especially unexpected boons like Guardians, which became an explosive sensation in 2014. Thus, it was no surprise when Disney announced the Guardians of the Galaxy animated TV series, which debuted on Disney XD this past September. After airing for only two weeks, the series ratings and overwhelming popularity have been such that Disney has already announced that the series will be coming back for a Season 2.
According to a press release, Guardians of the Galaxy will see a second season whereby the lovable, rambunctious crew will further explore the depths of the universe. The announcement was made by Marvel’s President of TV, Publishing, and Brand Management Dan Buckley during an appearance at the New York Comic-Con.
As Disney XD Senior Vice President, Programming, and General Manager Marc Buhaj pointed out, Disney has taken pains to ensure that the fun and spirited sensibility of the feature film transfer over to the television series, even though the series is not considered to be canon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The effort apparently paid off, as the Guardians of the Galaxy TV series has already proven to be a commodity capable of reaching a broad swath of viewers that includes adults as well Disney XD’s targeted younger audience. Guardians of the Galaxy has garnered approximately 4.4 million unique total viewers with just under half of that landing in the age 2 to 11-year-old demographic.
When Guardians of the Galaxy hit theaters last year, the hope was that it would be a serviceable and entertaining vehicle that brought lesser known Marvel comic book characters to life and function as a bridge to the studio’s larger tent pole films featuring top tier heroes such as Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor. What happened instead was that Guardians of the Galaxy became one of the highest grossing film of 2014, earning over $333 million at the domestic box office. The success of the film catapulted star Chris Pratt into Hollywood’s A-list status and assured that writer/director James Gunn would be given the chance to expand the Universe.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 will see all the principal cast members return, including Zoe Saldana as sexy green alien bad ass Gamora, Dave Bautista as the muscle bound brute Drax the Destroyer, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket Raccoon, and Vin Diesel as the voice of the alien tree man Groot, and is set for release during the summer of 2017.
