DISNEY XD & MARVEL TO DEBUT ANIMATED "MARVEL'S GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY"

Tune in to the hour-long special only on Disney XD on September 26!

"Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy," the action-packed epic space adventure following a ragtag band of disparate misfits, debuts with a one-hour special featuring back-to-back episodes, Saturday, September 26 at 9:30 PM ET on Disney XD. Catch a sneak peek of the first episode on Saturday, September 5 at 9:00 PM ET! Disney XD will also telecast 10 two-minute shorts delving into the backstory of each of the five main characters throughout the month of August.

"Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy" features themes of redemption and the importance of friendships and family told through a series of riveting sequential story arcs. The series follows the newly-formed team who finds a strange artifact keyed only to the DNA of Peter Quill. Upon opening it, Quill unleashes a treasure map leading to a powerful weapon known as the Cosmic Seed which is capable of giving birth to the next universe. It's up to the Guardians to find, protect and ultimately destroy the Cosmic Seed in order to keep it out of the hands of those who would abuse its power, from galactic big boss Thanos, to the conniving brothers the Collector and the Grandmaster, to a resurrected Ronan, to the ultimate trickster, Loki, in order to save the universe.

The "Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy" multi-platform schedule is:

August 1 - August 29

Each Saturday through August, catch two new character shorts airing on Disney XD.

August 1: Star-Lord - Part 1 (8:58 PM ET) & Part 2 (10:28 PM ET)

August 8: Groot - Part 1 (8:58 PM ET) & Part 2 (9:58 PM ET)

August 15: Rocket Raccoon - Part 1 (8:58 PM ET) & Part 2 (9:58 PM ET)

August 22: Drax - Part 1 (8:58 PM ET) & Part 2 (9:58 PM ET)

August 29: Gamora - Part 1 (8:58 PM ET) & Part 2 (9:58 PM ET)

Saturday, September 5

Disney XD debuts sneak peek at first episode of "Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy" at 9:00 PM ET.

"Road to Knowhere" - The newly-christened Guardians of the Galaxy come into possession of a dangerous artifact that has Thanos' new lieutenant, Korath, after them.

Saturday, September 26

One-hour premiere of "Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy" featuring back-to-back episodes on Disney XD (9:30 PM ET).

Encore presentation of "Road to Knowhere" followed by "Knowhere to Run." In "Knowhere to Run," the Guardians struggle to subdue the suddenly-sprung-to-life Celestial head that is the Knowhere space colony, as well as storm Korath's ship to rescue Quill, Gamora and the mysterious CryptoCube that holds the Cosmic Seed.

Sunday, September 27

"Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy" available to WATCH Disney XD users on WATCHDisneyXD.com and the WATCH Disney XD app for smartphones, tablets and connected TVs.

Featuring the hugely popular characters introduced in the record-breaking Marvel Studios film of the same name, the series stars Will Friedle ("Boy Meets World") as the brash adventurer Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Trevor Devall ("Johnny Test") as fan-favorite Rocket Raccoon, Vanessa Marshall ("Star Wars Rebels") as the enigmatic, expert fighter Gamora, David Sobolov ("Transformers: Prime") as the rough-edged warrior Drax the Destroyer, Kevin Michael Richardson ("The Cleveland Show") as tree-like humanoid Groot and James Arnold Taylor ("Star Wars: The Clone Wars") as leader of the space pirates Yondu and the telepathic dog, Cosmo.

Produced by Marvel Animation, the series' award-winning creative team includes executive producers Alan Fine ("Marvel's The Avengers," "Iron Man," "Thor"), Dan Buckley ("Marvel's Avengers Assemble," "Marvel's Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H."), Joe Quesada ("Marvel's Avengers Assemble") and Jeph Loeb ("Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."); co-executive producers Stan Lee ("Spider-Man"), Eric Radomski ("Spawn," "Marvel's Avengers Assemble"), Cort Lane ("Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man") and Stephen Wacker ("Marvel's Avengers Assemble"); supervising producers Marty Isenberg ("Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters") and Harrison Wilcox ("Marvel's Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H."); consulting producer Steven Melching ("Marvel's Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H."); and supervising director Leo Riley ("TRON: Uprising").

Stay tuned to Marvel.com for all the latest news and updates on all of your favorite Marvel animated series!