Movie power rankings: 'Guardians of the Galaxy' flies to No. 1

Marvel Studios' Phase Two is well under way with "Iron Man 3" in production and "Thor: The Dark World" and "Captain AMerica" Winter Soldier" following soon, and now they're making some headway on what could be their biggest film yet -- "Guardians of the Galaxy." Director James Gunn ("Super") is Marvel's somewhat unlikely top choice to direct the high-flying sci-fi/superhero franchise-starter that will tie into "The Avengers 2," and is rumored feature the villain Thanos glimpsed at the end of the first "Avengers" film. Die hard fans have a while to wait however, as "Guardians" is scheduled to open August 1, 2014.

Watch the video from Crackle here:

As for the rest of this week's list:

August 25, 2012

1. "Guardians of the Galaxy"  (Last week: Not ranked)
Has Marvel chosen a director for what could be their biggest movie yet?

2. "Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall" (Last week: Not ranked)

Will Jim Carrey join the mayhem as "The Colonel" in the sequel? Lionsgate seems pretty confident about the sequel, even staking out the prime real estate of June 28, 2013 for a release date. 

3. "The Dark Tower" (Last week: Not ranked)
Universal passed. Warner Bros. passed. Can Media Rights Capital actually bring to life the Ron Howard-directed Stephen King adaptation? Will Russell Crowe still star as The Gunslinger?

4. "Daredevil" (Last week: Not ranked)
With director Joe Carnahan out of the picture, will Fox be able to reboot the series before the contractual clock runs out. Will the rights revert back to Marvel Studios? There are so many questions for Matt Murdock -- good thing he's a lawyer. 

5. "The Expendables 2" (Last week: No. 5)
The sequel punched its way to a $28. 8 million opening and a strong second weekend, so all signs point to "yes" for a planned third installment.

6. "Snow White and the Huntsman 2" (Last week: Not ranked)
Universal is being cagey about the potential sequel. They've said Kristen Stewart has not been dropped from a sequel, but we don't know if a sequel is actually still in the works or not. Maybe we'll be seeing that rumored "Huntsman" spin-off instead. 

7. "Iron Man 3" (Last week: Not ranked)
Robert Downey Jr.'s ankle injury has delayed production, but the show will go on...just maybe with a few more stuntmen. 

8. "Fast Six" (Last week: Not ranked)
We got our first look at the latest Fast and Furious" sequel, showing muscleman Dwayne Johnson relaxing with his sexy co-star Gina Carano ("Haywire"). Just wait 'til you see them in action. 

9. "The Dark Knight Rises" (Last week: No. 6)
The unstoppable Batman film crossed the $400 million domestic mark last week and has earned over $900 million  worldwide. How soon before Warner Bros. officially announces a reboot?

10. "The Counselor" (Last week: Not ranked)
Ridley Scott has paused production on his latest film after his brother Tony Scott passed away. "The Counselor," written by Cormac McCarthy,  stars Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Cameron Diaz and Penelope Cruz. 

Watch the previous installment of Movie Power Rankings here. 

What do you think of this week's rankings? Share your thoughts below. Or tweet your thoughts with the hashtag #moviepowerrankings and tell us who you want to see in next week's edition.