Details of Thanos's role in Guardians of the Galaxy have been revealed.

Vulture has released a report about the Josh Brolin-voiced villain's involvement in Marvel Studios' next release.

The Mad Titan will primarily appear to his minions Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) and Nebula (Karen Gillan) in the form of a hologram.

He will also be seen briefly in the flesh, although his presence is said to be felt throughout the movie.

Guardians of the Galaxy will continue Marvel's slow-building revelation of the Infinity Gems, at least two of which have already featured in its movies. In the film, the team come into possession of the Power Stone.

The holographic appearance of Thanos has been compared to Emperor Palpatine's role in The Empire Strikes Back and the Star Wars prequels.

Brolin was recently announced to be voicing Thanos, who was seen briefly in the Avengers post-credits scene.

Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Djimon Hounsou, John C Reilly, Glenn Close, and Benicio del Toro will also feature in the James Gunn-directed film.

Guardians of the Galaxy will be released on August 1.