The first images of Seth Rogen and Jay Chou in The Green Hornet have appeared online. And with them come the promise of a little bit of action and a lot less (literally) Seth Rogen. They also mean that a trailer will not be far behind, as the marketing machine is gearing up.

Yahoo Movies debuted the two images and set a time of Midnight Eastern Time for the trailer release. The film follows exploits of newspaper publisher Brit Reid (Rogen), whose secret identity is “The Green Hornet,” a crimefighter dedicated to protecting the lives and rights of the city’s citizens. He is aided by his trusty sidekick Kato (Chou). The Michel Gondry directed film will also star Cameron Diaz, Christoph Waltz and Edward James Olmos.

In recent months there have been rumblings that Columbia Pictures isn’t happy with the way the film is turning out. If you’re like me, you might see that as a good thing. With the talent involved in this project, I refuse to worry about the final product, save for an instance of gross studio intervention.

The Green Hornet is due in theaters January 14, 2011.