Guardians of the Galaxy TV Series: First Footage

It's official! The biggest movie of the year so far is now making its way to the small screen, despite producers recently claiming that a Guardians of the Galaxy series was only a rumor. Marvel's Head of Television Jeff Loeb made the announcement at New York Comic Con this week, stating that "Everyone wants more of Star-Lord and his crew – now they’ll get it.” 

While this is only basic test footage, it's hard to deny that the animation itself is extremely impressive. The backgrounds alone are incredibly detailed, evoking the epic tone of the film and the anime inspired style gives the animation a slick, modern look that should appeal to viewers both young and old.

Fan favorites Star-Lord and Rocket Raccoon are the only characters featured in the test footage, but they've survived the transition from the big screen to animation seamlessly, perhaps due in part to their comic book origins. It's obvious to anyone who's actually seen Guardians of the Galaxy that neither Chris Pratt or Bradley Cooper voiced their characters in the clip and sadly, it's unlikely that they will reprise their roles for the series as both are huge stars in their own right. However, another Disney XD series called Star Wars Rebels used some of the live action performers for voice roles, so it's not completely unheard of.

Marvel fans will have to wait until 2015 to catch the Guardians of the Galaxy on Disney XD, but in the meantime, take a look at the test footage below to catch a glimpse of what lies in store for the intergalactic team.

Back in the 1990's, Marvel ruled over the world of comic book animation with the cult success of the X-Men and Spider-Man series, but in recent years, the quality of their cartoons has decreased in direct proportion with the popularity of their feature film output. This raises three very important questions. First, will Guardians of the Galaxy match the high standard set by DC animation? Second, will the series become too child-centric or will the producers try to appeal to adults as well? And most importantly, will the Guardians of the Galaxy animation capture the irreverent tone of the live action film?   

The answers to all of these questions will become apparent in 2015, but that's a pretty long wait, so if you're eager to catch a glimpse of how the Guardians of the Galaxy will look as a whole team right now, check out their animated counterparts in the artwork below.

Guardians of the Galaxy is set to premiere on Disney XD in 2015.