Director James Gunn, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and lead actor Chris Pratt sat down with AMC Movie Talk to discuss about the highly anticipated upcoming film, Guardians of the Galaxy, on Saturday evening (March 8).

The interviewer, John Campea, called Feige "the modern-day George Lucas," and asked the producer if he considered the project a risk.

"All of us at the studio wanted to do something new, wanted to do something original," Feige admitted. "Excited about doing something, frankly, that most people had never heard of. [It] couldn't be more distant in geography to the other films. 99% of this movie takes place on the other side of the galaxy. Never mind the themes and character interaction ... there are a handful of characters you'll see in this movie who will carry through to other films as threats to Earth."

While explaining the process of finding a cast that could bring the characters to life onscreen, Gunn revealed that he originally did not think Chris Pratt could handle the leading role. However, the actor has infused his personality with Peter Quill's, creating his own version of the character. The director added that Guardians of the Galaxy is going to be an amusing and absurd exploration of deep space with an eclectic band of misfits that ultimately grow to love each other. "I would include Kevin and the Marvel guys and me," Gunn said. "And we're all kind of an eclectic group of characters, and that's what the Guardians are."

James Gunn also said that fans might have to hope for a sequel if they want to see the other characters in the universe: "There's a lot of them. There are so many great characters. There are some great original Guardians; I love Star-Hawk. Bug was in early drafts, but never a main Guardian. Tantalus was in for a while ... If we're fortunate enough to make another film in the future, there's plenty of characters to bring in. There are nods or teases to them in the film."

Feige hinted that Cosmo, an intelligent telepathic dog, might join the Guardians in the future, and the fans "will have to wait and see the movie."

Guardians of the Galaxy is scheduled to hit theaters on August 1, 2014.