James Gunn and Chris Pratt talk 'Guardians of the Galaxy' movie and reveal plot, team's origin

Guardians of the Galaxy will be yet another installment in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe when it hits theaters on Aug. 1, 2014. But unlike The Avengers or any of the individual superheroes (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Hulk), the film has the added challenge of making the casual moviegoer invested in a group of characters that might be completely unfamiliar to him or her.

In an interview with Empire Magazine, director James Gunn and star Chris Pratt, who plays Peter Quill/Star-Lord in the movie, discuss the film's tone, plot and more. Firstly, the magazine asked Pratt for his thoughts on the movie's place in Marvel's movie universe.

"Maybe it's a risk, I don't know," Pratt replied. "I think every movie Marvel's made has been a risk and they're risks that pay off really big. So I hope for the movie's sake, and my sake, that this one pays off. The story's really good and Marvel really knows what they're doing."

Pratt also talked about the tone of the movie, which is also different from many other Marvel films in that it unites a group of diverse aliens into one team.

"It's not as broad as Galaxy Quest, but it's not a straightforward space fantasy like Star Wars," Pratt said. "I think it's the sort of the best of both of those films put together...and more!"

The article also reveals how the Guardians of the Galaxy team comes together. Peter Quill gets thrown in prison and the team unites to break out and "go after a treasure that they all want for different reasons." Director James Gunn elaborated:

"Our characters are basically all villains to begin with. They don't believe they're individually good and they don't believe each other is good, and through the course of the movie they discover they're heroes. If The Avengers are The Beatles, these guys are The Rolling Stones."

Are you excited for Guardians of the Galaxy? Let us know why or why not in the comments below.