Thor: The Dark World has already opened in theaters overseas and this Friday the second chapter of Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally releases in North America. Taking advantage of the timing and buzz, Marvel Studios launched the first full-length trailer for the next film in the series, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but no official footage has released yet for the second 2014 release and the last film before The Avengers: Age of UltronGuardians of the Galaxy.

What has surfaced in the last few days however, is a look at promotional art for Guardians of the Galaxy, a comprehensive and potentially revealing list Hasbro toys for the film, and quotes from stars Michael Rooker and Chris Pratt, both sharing their brief thoughts on the character of Groot and the actor playing him - Vin Diesel, respectively.

The first unofficial art for the Guardians of the Galaxy film popped up in a theater in São Paulo, Brazil (note the MarvelBrasil.com URL at the bottom). It's in the same style as the early leaked promotional art for Thor and The Avengers which revealed our first looks at the heroes in costume, but director James Gunn wrote off the early look as simply fan art. The official site at the bottom of the poster - and the social media link - may indicate otherwise, and it is true to the character designs even if Gamora and Drax's faces are a little off. Still, what's most interesting about the image, real or not, is the emphasis on the mysterious orb, the MacGuffin of the film which may have greater implications for the future of the franchise.

Guardians of the Galaxy Promo Art

Also in vein of leaked Guardians info, a list of action figures and sets in the Hasbro Guardians of the Galaxy toy line may offer some minor plot point spoilers. Some interesting battles that could be in the film, according to the toy titles, include Drax fighting Korath the Pursuer (Djimon Hounsou) and Drax fighting Thanos, the latter of which we're unsure will actually be in this movie or in a future appearance in The Avengers 3 or 4, a Guardians sequel, etc. There's also a mention of the Badoon species which may confirm that Marvel Studios is introducing that important alien race from the comics into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There's also of course Nova figures and a Nova ship, but we're curious as to whether or not the Nova from the comics will be introduced in the film as one of Marvel's highest profile cosmic characters.

Take a look at the complete toy code list below from Collider.

  • GGM 12 IN TITAN HERO FIGURE AST A8471
  • GGM 12 INCH ELECTRONIC STAR LORD A8685
  • GGM DRAX A7907
  • GGM DRAX VS KORATH A7897
  • GGM DRAX VS THANOS A7897
  • GGM FIGURE 2PK AST A7895
  • GGM GAMORA A7905
  • GGM GROOT A7915
  • GGM GROOT AND ROCKET VS BADOON WARRIOR A7898
  • GGM HERO SHIP PLAYSET A7911
  • GGM IRON MAN A7909
  • GGM MARVEL PLATINUM SERIES 6IN LEGENDS A7903
  • GGM NOVA A7908
  • GGM NOVA SHIP A7893
  • GGM PURSUIT SPACECRAFT AST A7892
  • GGM RAPID FIRE ROCKET A7902
  • GGM RAPID REVEALERS FIGURE AST A7912
  • GGM ROCKET A7906
  • GGM ROCKET AND GROOT VS NOVA SOLDIER A7900
  • GGM ROCKET RACCOON A7914
  • GGM ROCKET RACCOON A8474
  • GGM ROCKET RACCOON FEATURE MOTION MASK A8472
  • GGM ROCKET RACCOON RIFLE BLASTER A8475
  • GGM ROCKET RACOON A7914
  • GGM ROCKETS PIRATE SHIP A7894
  • GGM ROLE PLAY SET A7901
  • GGM STAR LORD A7904
  • GGM STAR LORD A7913
  • GGM STAR LORD A8473
  • GGM STAR LORD BLASTER A7910
  • GGM STAR LORD VS GAMORA A7899
  • GGM STAR LORD VS RONAN A7896

Even though Guardians of the Galaxy wrapped production of its London shoot a few weeks ago, there's still one piece of casting not yet official - that of Vin Diesel voicing and performing motion capture work for the character of Groot. Diesel himself has confirmed he has the role but Marvel Studios has yet to make an official announcement, even while Diesel walks around the set of Fast & Furious 7 on stilts training for the role on his breaks. When asked about the casting of Diesel as Groot, Pratt praised his unique voice in an interview with iamROGUE:

As for the odd character of Groot who in appearance, looks like a walking, talking tree, Michael Rooker tells Forbes:

"Groot is not a tree, he’s a different being from a different universe. And he’s not like a tree the way we have trees. We use it for cordwood, for cooking and heating our homes. Groot is a whole different being from a whole different galaxy, somewhere you don’t even know where he’s from. I don’t even know where he’s from. He just happens to look like bark."

We do know that the bark-skinned member of the Guardians has only one line in the film, "I Am Groot," so Diesel has an interesting and unique challenge ahead of him bringing emotion to one of the most obscure characters the Marvel movies may ever introduce.

Guardians of the Galaxy is directed by James Gunn off of his script co-written by Nicole Perlman. Cooper joins a cast led by Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, Benicio del Toro, John C. Reilly and Glenn Close.

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Thor: The Dark World on November 8, 2013, Captain America: The Winter Soldier on April 4, 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy on August 1, 2014The Avengers: Age of Ultron on May 1, 2015, Ant-Man on July 31, 2015, and unannounced films for May 6 2016, July 8 2016 and May 5 2017.

Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes for your Marvel movie news!

Sources: Collider, Imgur (via Reddit), iamROGUEForbes