While Parks and Rec fans noticed Chris Pratt's dramatic weight loss and temporary exit from the series to film Guardians of the Galaxy, little else has truly been known about the Disney/Marvel project - until now.

The studio released the first official promotional photo of the comic book adaptation (above) on the last day of 2013, as well as an official synopsis:

"An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill (Pratt) finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan (Lee Pace), 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 (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Groot, a tree-like humanoid (voiced by Vin Diesel), the deadly and enigmatic Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista). But when Peter 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."

The film - which also stars Benicio Del Toro and Djimon Hounsou - is directed by James Gunn (Super, Slither) and hits theaters August 1, 2014.