4. Hire Interesting Actors
The great thing about Iron Man was that Robert Downey Jr. looked like he was having a lot of fun playing Tony Stark. He turned Iron Man into an iconic film character. You cant think of anyone else in that role, and God help whoever has to step into that role if he ever decides to give it up. Johnny Depp did the same with the character of Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean, a movie I never thought would be good. Those two examples go to show that a great actor can make a good part great. You have to do the same with the Guardians. Its not enough to think people are going to show up to a Marvel movie because it ties into The Avengers somehow, get some terrific actors and earn you sequels. The ultimate sign of success for this movie would be to have the casual film-goer walk into this movie out of curiosity and leave with excitement for the next chapter of Marvel Phase 2. As Im not too familiar with the characters, I couldnt begin to think of what would be right for any of the roles, but when casting, do not do what the Star Wars prequels did. Make the characters more interesting than the movie. In Episode IV-VI the characters speak like real humans who happen to be in a weird sci-fi movie which makes them relatable, in the prequel trilogy everyone speaks like a Star Wars character with little to no personality. Make the characters real people, even if one of them is a Raccoon.