Trailer Park | Guardians of the Galaxy - Trailer 2

Apparently unsatisfied with their continuing domination of the (earth-bound) box office, Marvel Studios are jetting off into space for their next silver-screen adventure, with what looks to be a rollicking adaptation of one of their lesser-known properties.

Guardians of the Galaxy expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe.

To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits--Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon; Groot, a tree-like humanoid; the deadly and enigmatic Gamora; and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand--with the galaxy's fate in the balance.

While the film's original trailer emphasised its funny side to great effect – helped along by B.J. Thomas' covered-by-David-Hasslehoff pop classic 'Hooked on a Feeling' – the just-released second preview places the onus on the epic action instead, reminding us that there is something at stake here for our rag-tag team of heroes.

Scratch that, apparently there's something at stake for the entire galaxy... "12 billion people!" as Glenn Close's up-styled Nova Commander Rael makes it a point to remind us.

Guardians of the Galaxy will be out in US cinemas on July 30, with a local release undoubtedly soon to follow.