TV Preview: Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

Of all the blockbuster hit movies based on Marvel Comics characters, perhaps the biggest surprise, in terms of the film's reception and financial success, was last year's Guardians of the Galaxy. Expectations for the film were not especially high, given that the characters were not well known to mainstream audiences, but the film took in more than three quarters of a billion dollars by the time its worldwide theatrical run was finished. This fall, Disney hopes to keep the Guardians enthusiasm active with a new animated series on its Disney XD cable channel.

The animated Guardians of the Galaxy series was in development even before the live-action film was finished, and Disney promises that the film's quirky humore and irreverent tone will remain the same in the series.

What won't be the same are the actors. Chris Pratt's turn as Peter Quill in the film was the actor's breakthrough role, and now he's way too famous to lend his voice to an animated TV series. Instead, Quill will be voiced by Will Friedle of Boy Meets World. VIn Diesel won't be uttering the "I am Groot" lines, either; the tree man with a limited vocabulary will be played by Kevin Michael Richardson. Trevor Devall plays Rocket, and Vanessa Marshall plays Gamora.

In the series' first episode, the Guardians are on a mission to find a superpowerful weapon, a theme that will seem familiar to those who loved the feature film. The series debuts September 26 on Disney XD.