Under the stewardship of theSlitherandSuperdirector, Marvel Studios had a major success on its hands with that one.

The film has even started influencing the Marvel Comics themselves, which is a pretty big stamp of approval.

Cort Lane and Stephen Wacker two of the executives from Marvel Entertainment have overseen the project.

The show is coming to UK screens on the 7th of November, via Disney XD.

We chatted to Lane and Wacker over the phone about all thingsGuardians…

Ad content continues below

First things first, then…

When did the idea originate to bring theGuardians Of The Galaxyto TV?

So we read the script.

Which was really far along at that point.

It had all the songs listed.

And, it really it had all the scenes.

And a few extras that you didnt see in the final film.

And we started from there.

So, a year prior to the film release.

As we got closer to the release, Marvel felt more and more confident.

Not in a cocky way at all, but they understood that wow, this really good.

Audiences are gonna love this.

And its very friendly to kids, too.

Theres lots of fun, cool weirdness that kids are gonna love in animation as well.

So, thats how we went.

From there, how was the creative team brought together?

And what was their brief like?

I think, our first choice was… Marty Eisenberg the guy who is our story editor.

It really came together pretty quickly and easily.

Cort, do you remember anything?

Were those the Origins shorts [embedded above]?

CL:Yeah, that was a great opportunity.

So the shorts gave us an opportunity to, sort of, give a little bit of the backstory.

To the kids, to the viewers, who were seeing these characters coming out of the film.

Was it a tough balance to get the tone right for those kids, do you think?

SW:Well, I think kids hate outlaws.

But as we see in the film, they can aim for something higher.

They do have a personal quest, each of them.

Theres a reason theyve ended up like they are.

And I think their personalities are so different.

That lends to conflict.

And out of conflict comes character.

CL:Yeah, the flaws and the humour thats what makes them so relatable.

The show is already well underway in the USA, but in the UK it hasnt started yet.

What can you tease to us about where the story is going to go?

The short version is that its an epic scavenger hunt through the cosmos.

And we get to go to a lot of points along the Marvel universe.

And meet a lot of interesting characters.

Some of them very weird.

Some of them unsavoury.

And a lot of it is tied to the past of each of the Guardians.

In particular, theres this very powerful object which is connected to Peter, and his past.

And, along the way, we meet characters from the Guardians individual pasts… who may hate them.

And, in Peters case, dated them.

Theres conflict and theres humour in that.

And we get to see these characters redeem themselves.

And, from your standpoint, how do you see the film and the series to be linked?

Thats where we pick up from.

Now, we tell our own story.

Weve gotta do over 13-hours of animation before the next film even comes out.

So, the movies gonna tell its own story, and were gonna tell ours.

But, we use the same launching pad.

Theyre not meant to be tied into one another.

I think, in terms of tone, they sit very closely to each other.

Part of that is the music that we use on the show.

Weve licensed twelve-or-so actual seventies songs.

That was part of Corts life for a year, trying to nail down those legalities.

Um, and I think the music goes a long way to help capture the spirit of the film.

Was James Gunn consulted at all?

Did he help out with any advice, at all?

I mean, we have a really robust number of characters throughout the season.

Weve had a lot of fun playing with them, and connecting them with ourGuardianscharacters in the animated series.

Hes a Russian cosmonaut dog who speaks telepathically.

And is pretty funny.

And a final called Titus from theNovabooks who is a cop gone bad from the Nova Core.

And so, theres a lot of fun to be had.

And we have The Collector in our show, and we also get to meet his brother.

See the conflict that his brother creates.

SW:The restrictions on characters is where I get to be a bad guy.

Because our writers want to use everybody!

SW:And they burn me an effigy, Im sure.

Are you bringing in any characters we wouldnt normally associate with that team?

SW:Err… there is…

I cant remember if weve spoken about it publicly, though, Cort?

CL:[Laughs] You will meet heroes and villains, from other corners of the Marvel universe.

And I think we should probably leave it at that.

Because the middle of this season is an epic war between different factions in the Marvel universe.

Okay, let the speculation begin then!

Cort Lane and Stephen Wacker, thank you very much!

The first twenty minutes has already beenreleased online.