guardians of the galaxy

As successful as 'Guardians of the Galaxy' was at the box-office (and, as the highest-grossing film of the year, it certainly was that), the film's iconic soundtrack was equally as successful. "Awesome Mix Vol. 1" spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and is currently the 10th largest selling album of 2014. You've been able to buy the digital album, the CD, vinyl and even a "Deluxe Edition," but so far, no actual cassette like the mix tape in the film. But, that's all about to change.

As we quickly learned after watching Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' the world has much more love to give to this intergalactic band of superhero misfits. Aside from the upcoming 'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' in 2017, an announcement at New York Comic Con confirms a new animated TV series is coming to Disney XD, and the first poster and test footage for the affair have landed.

There actually was a new film released this week. It's called 'The Identical' and it's a Christian-themed fable about what would have happened if Elvis Presley's stillborn twin brother had survived. Well, for reasons that should be obvious after reading that sentence, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' held onto the number one spot this weekend while 'The Identical' opened outside of the top 10, never to be heard from again.

A few weeks ago, this column was skeptical that Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' could reach $300 million. Now, it seems impossible that it won't. Thanks to ecstatic word of mouth, killer marketing and only one genuinely successful box office challenger (that would be 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'), Marvel's oddball space opera has managed to spend three of the past four weekends at the number one spot at the box office, giving it enough momentum to officially become the highest grossing film of 2014.

Marvel Studios and the character of Tony Stark/Iron Man transformed Robert Downey Jr. from a has-been into one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, so it's not surprising that he'll sing their praises outside the context of the movies he stars in. However, he recently took it a big step further, declaring 'Guardians of the Galaxy' to be the best Marvel movie yet. Yep, even the ones that he's not in.

Ever since James Gunn's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' got Marvelites hooked on these intergalactic superheroes with attitude, the cosplay world has been a boomin' with Rocket Raccoons, Gamoras, Star-Lords and even a bunch of Nebulas, but nothing makes us say "I am Groot" quite like this incredible Groot cosplay.

Zoe Saldana's Gamora may be considered the deadliest assassin in the galaxy, but we're singing a different tune after seeing this Nebula cosplay. As Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' hits more milestones, the latest being its rise to the No. 1 movie of the summer, more cosplayers are incorporating the film into their works, and one standout is Karin Olava.

30 years after their comic book debut and several decades since they last ruled the box office, the 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' returned this week and proved that they're as relevant and popular as ever. Although many people wondered if the turtles would have the power to overtake Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' it now seems obvious in retrospect: of course they could...

Up until the day it opened, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' was a big question mark at the box office. Could Marvel Studios continue its winning streak with a movie based on a practically unknown comic series that only has light connections to the rest of the films in their cinematic universe? Early estimates had the film grossing $60 million over the weekend and that would have been perfectly OK. But

Ahead, Oscar-winning costume designer Alexandra Byrne takes us through a handful of the major characters from 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and explains the trials and tribulations of dressing the most infamous band of a-holes in the galaxy.

We've speculated for months on who would be playing Thanos, the overarching villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Would it be Vin Diesel? Benicio Del Toro? Kevin Feige said they had the actor cast, but that they weren't ready to reveal who it was just yet. Well, they might not be ready, but that doesn't matter because the word is out.

We theorized that Vin Diesel was secretly cast as Thanos under the guise of Groot, but, now 'Guardians' director James Gunn says that's not true and we're right back to square one. During the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' fan Q&A on Facebook yesterday, one fan did God's work and asked Gunn straight up who would be playing Thanos.