'Guardians of the Galaxy' Revealed as Marvel's Mystery Movie

Marvel Studios has a new gang of superheroes waiting in the wings: The Guardians of the Galaxy.

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And amid the on-going speculation about which of its characters the studio is grooming to star in a movie scheduled for release in May 2014, the Guardians are moving to the front of the line.

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Today, that speculation reached a fever pitch after Latino-Review.com posted a report that the Guardians have been chosen for that coveted 2014 on Marvel’s release calendar. 

There was some reason to be initially skeptical. Only last month, Latino Review predicted that another of Marvel’s superheroes, Black Panther, would headline the mystery slot.

However, sources tell Heat Vision that an announcement on Guardians is expected at Marvel's panel during Comic-Con. Marvel had no comment. 

Sources also said that of the many movies Marvel has in development, Guardians is one of the projects most ready to go and fits well with Marvel’s grand plans.

According to insiders, Guardians already has a well-regarded script by Nicole Perlman. She previously wrote two space-related biopic scripts: Challenger, about the 1986 Space Shuttle disaster, and an untitled Neil Armstrong project. She entered Marvel’s now-defunct writing program to broaden her range, and there she developed a reputation for action writing. She wrote a Black Widow script that so impressed the execs that they brought her on to work on Thor.

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She also has written two drafts of Guardians that are highly regarded. Adding to the heat surrounding Guardians is the fact that Marvel is on the hunt for a director. Those in the know say the project is in line with The Avengers in tone, with plenty of comedic elements on display.

Meanwhile, Marvel is hard at work on an Ant-Man movie (Edgar Wright is working on a test reel right now); came close to making The Runaways; and has scripts for Doctor Strange and Iron Fist, among others. Marvel, of course, has a penchant for building shared universes and a slate that is filling up with sequels to Thor, Captain America and Iron Man -- not to mention, the galactic villain Thanos, introduced in a cameo at the end of The Avengers. Guardians, with its multiple characters, could operate on a similar tentpole level. And after Avengers, tentpole is the only way to describe Marvel movies.

The Guardians of the Galaxy are a band of space-traveling heroes from the 31st century who were introduced into the Marvel Universe in 1969.  

The team has a long comics history but is relatively unknown to casual fans. Still, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige is a fan and mentioned a possible Guardians movie during an interview promoting The Avengers in April. 

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Members of the classic team include Major Vance Astro, a 20th century American astronaut who traveled to the future; Charlie-27, a space pilot from Jupiter; Martinex, a scientist from Pluto whose body becomes covered in a crystal-like substance; and Yondu, a blue-and-red-colored hunter from the Earth-like planet Centauri IV. Other members include minor Marvel characters such as Firelord, Starhawk  and Talon.

The more recent version of the team included Adam Warlock, Drax the Destroyer and Star-Lord as well as a version of Vance Astro called Major Victory.

CAA had no comment.