The days of the Guardians of the Galaxy are officially coming to an end, with Marvel announcing the team will evolve to become the Imperial Guardians, the flagship series for the publisher’s bold new era of cosmic storytelling. And they’re calling on one of the team’s greatest creators to make it happen.
The Guardians of The Galaxy Become The IMPERIAL GUARDNAIJAONPOINT in 2026
Co-Creator of The Modern ‘Guardians’ Dan Abnett Returns To Write New Series
Directly following from the bombshell events of Jonathan Hickman’s Imperial storyline which saw empires fall, new allegiances formed across space, and a bold new story for Star-Lord Peter Quill, the new Imperial Guardians will be formed with writer Dan Abnett and artist Marcelo Ferreira launching the new series in March 2026. While the original Guardians team goes all the way back to 1969, it was co-writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning who re-imagined the team for the modern Annihilation era in 2008, recruiting Star-Lord, Gamora, Draxx, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot, forming the incarnation adapted to the MCU.
Abnett now returns to oversee this new relaunch, joined by Marcelo Ferreira fresh off Predator Kills The Marvel Universe. With Captain Marvel having replaced Star-Lord, a new roster of varied heroes has been chosen to fight alongside her. Read on for the first official plot details direct from Marvel:
Gamora, Captain Marvel, Amadeus Cho, Darkhawk, Cosmic Ghost Rider! Five unlikely operatives recruited by Maximus of the Inhumans. Their mission? Protect the delicate balance of new Galactic Union by ANY means necessary… and failure is NOT an option.
Expendable, deniable and disavowed, they are the Imperial Guardians. But can they do Maximus’ dirty work and keep their consciences clean? Why has a Kree Grand Admiral gone rogue and attacked Hala? What’s going on with Darkhawk’s mind? What deluded fool thought Cosmic Ghost Rider was a team player? And, most importantly… what kind of game is Maximus REALLY playing?
Gamora Commands The New “Mismatched” Guardians of Marvel’s Universe
The New Imperial Guardians Make The Original Team Seem Like Professionals
The events of the Imperial event started with murder, and ended up with Star-Lord the new King of Space. That level of chaos and upending of cosmic order has created a whole new landscape for Marvel’s cosmic storytelling in the aftermath. Dan Abnett is channeling that mess of loyalties, moralities, and cosmic politics into this new team, giving veteran member and official team leader Gamora a rabble of cosmic characters to try to keep on task:
“I chose the roster to reflect that – the clashing, mismatched spirit of Star-Lord’s original team mixed with a professional hard focus. An iconic hero in Captain Marvel, an anti-hero in the troubled Darkhawk, brains and brawn in the mercurial Amadeus Cho (yes, that’s a Hulk in Hulkbuster armor!), and the downright psychopathic Cosmic Ghost Rider as enigmatic ramrod and drill sergeant. Only Gamora, the Deadliest Woman in the Galaxy, has a chance of keeping them in line as team leader.
“It’s a whole string of dirty jobs, one after another, and these are the somebodies I picked to do it. Will there be glorious victories? No. But will they learn to bond as a team? Also no. But will they keep it together long enough to guard the Galaxy and save trillions of lives? Let’s just hope so, okay?”
The lunacy of a Hulk in Hulkbuster armor, or Guardians hitching a ride through space on Cosmic Ghost Rider’s motorcycle in cover art by Sean Izaakse and Netho Diaz sets the tone already. And according to artist Marcelo Ferreira, that energy is definitely indiciative of the “ditry jobs” the heroes will be taking on in the pages of the series come 2026:
“IMPERIAL GUARDNAIJAONPOINT is both a team AND a cosmic book, which for me is a double challenge, but also double the fun! Cosmic books carry these stories full of great energetic scenes, which I love, because they allow me to flex this other artistic muscle. Plus, Dan Abnett has put together this cool lineup, giving me the chance to draw characters such as Cosmic Ghost Rider, Darkhawk and Gamora! I truly hope that all the fun I’m having translates into the pages and to the readers!”
Imperial Guardians #1 arrives March 11, 2026 from Marvel Comics.