There's a lot of talk about the tone of Guardians of the Galaxy, based on footage premiered at Comic-Con International and other conventions earlier this year. James Gunn's space-spanning epic appears to be goofier than any of the Marvel Studios films released thus far, that's for sure. But it also has Thanos as a key antagonist, and he's no laughing matter — most of the time, anyway.

So, what's the deal? Is Guardians a comedy, or a drama? The answer is a bit of both, according to Chris Pratt.

"I think it should be really fun," the Star-Lord actor told The Huffintgon Post. "But, that being said, it takes the dramatic beats seriously. I men, it takes itself seriously when it needs to. Just as a whole it doesn't take itself too seriously. But, it definitely takes it's dramatic moments seriously. And the dramatic arcs and the bits of emotion that you're supposed to feel something that you're supposed to feel something that I think you really will. But, hopefully, it will be because it's anchored to this comedy. Like, to the comedy that lives in it. If you tie comedy and drama together, than you don't have to go as big to get laughs and you don't have to go as big to get a real emotional response."

Guardians of the Galaxy lands in theaters on Aug. 1, 2014.