<P> The film premiered in Hollywood on July 21, 2014 . It was released in theaters on August 1, 2014 in the United States in the 3D and IMAX 3D formats . The film became a critical and commercial success, grossing $773.3 million worldwide and becoming the highest - grossing superhero film of 2014, as well as the third highest - grossing film of 2014 . The film garnered praise for its humor, action, soundtrack, visual effects, direction, musical score, and acting . A sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, was released on May 5, 2017, with a third film, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, scheduled to be released in 2020 . </P> <P> In 1988, following his mother's death, a young Peter Quill is abducted from Earth by the Ravagers, a group of space pirates led by Yondu Udonta . Twenty - six years later on the planet Morag, Quill steals an orb but is attacked by Korath, a subordinate to the fanatical Kree, Ronan . Although Quill escapes with the orb, Yondu discovers his theft and issues a bounty for his capture, while Ronan sends the assassin Gamora after the orb . </P> <P> When Quill attempts to sell the orb on Xandar, capital of the Nova Empire, Gamora ambushes him and steals it . A fight ensues, drawing in a pair of bounty hunters: the genetically and cybernetically modified raccoon Rocket, and the tree - like humanoid Groot . Nova Corps officers capture the four, detaining them in the Kyln . A powerful inmate there, Drax, attempts to kill Gamora due to her association with Ronan, who killed his family . Quill convinces Drax that Gamora can bring Ronan to him, though Gamora reveals that she has betrayed Ronan, unwilling to let him use the orb's power . Learning that Gamora has a buyer for the orb, Quill, Rocket, Groot, and Drax work with her to escape the Kyln in Quill's ship, the Milano . </P> <P> Ronan meets with Gamora's adoptive father, Thanos, to discuss her betrayal . Quill's group flee to Knowhere, a remote criminal outpost in space built in the giant severed head of a Celestial . A drunken Drax summons Ronan while the rest of the group meet Gamora's contact, the collector Taneleer Tivan . Tivan opens the orb, revealing an Infinity Stone, an item of immeasurable power that destroys all but the most powerful beings who wield it . Tivan's tormented assistant Carina grabs the Stone, triggering an explosion that engulfs Tivan's archive . </P>

Who's the villain in guardians of the galaxy