There has been much speculation on what that fancy new Marvel franchise would be. Black Panther? Ant Man? What in the world could Marvel do next? Well, it’s going to be Guardians of the Galaxy and it’s going to be officially announced at Comic Con next week.

Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige told Entertainment Weekly last September:

There is an opportunity to do a big space epic, which Thor sort of hints at in the cosmic side of the universe, with characters in a property called Guardians of the Galaxy.

This largely completes the film slate for Marvel Studios for the next few years. We’ve got:

• Iron Man 3 – May 2013
• Thor 2 – November 2013
• Captain America 2 – April 2014
• Guardians of the Galaxy – May 2014
• Avengers 2 – 2015 (speculated)
• Ant Man – Late 2015 (speculated)

EW has also confirmed that Edgar Wright’s (Scott Pilgrim, Shaun of the Dead) Ant Man is also moving toward production, and it’s unlikely that film gets done anytime soon as he’s quite a full slate until mid 2013.

Ant Man is the story of a scientist who has the power to grow really big or really small and he as a wife known as The Wasp. And Guardians of the Galaxy? Well, they’re like the space Avengers and are pretty cosmic (think Thor, but more cosmic).

Here are the current members of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the players that are likely to be in the film, which is based on the modern interpretation rather than the originals.

Star-Lord is a half-human half-alien intergalactic cop that has a special space suit and twin guns.

Drax is a dude who was killed and then resurrected as a knife-using green killer who wants to destroy Thanos, also known as the red guy at the end of The Avengers. (sidenote: WAIT A MINUTE).

Rocket Raccoon is a genetically engineered raccoon. Seriously. And he shoots people. Think Star Fox.

Groot is a giant, walking-talking tree. Yeah, exactly like the thing from Lord of the Rings.

Mantis is an alien bug woman that’s sexy. Because you always need some eye candy. Kind of.

So yeah, I have no clue how these movies are going to work – but we’re definitely going to find out. [EW]

ant man, guardians of the galaxy, marvel studios