6 reasons why Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 could be the best superhero movie yet

Even if you're not really into superhero movies, chances are you're excited for Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (or at least you should be!).

Director James Gunn reunites his principle cast from the first film released in the summer of 2014, which includes Chris Pratt spearheading the production as the cocky but likeable Peter Quill.

Considering how flippin' amazing the first film was, and the fact we've just seen the first poster (above) and footage (below) emerge, here are some solid reasons why the follow-up could turn into the greatest superhero flick ever.

So the main characters that made the first film so darn enjoyable are back - all of 'em. This includes Chris Pratt's Peter Quill aka Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana's Gamora, Dave Bautista's Drax, Vin Diesel's Groot, Bradley Cooper's Rocket, as well as Nebula (Karen Gillan), Yondu (Michael Rooker), and the legendary Glenn Close as Nova Prime. Meaning we lose none of the amazing dynamic and chemistry between the characters, in theory at least.

Considering Guardians of the Galaxy was something of an unknown quantity, Marvel clearly had faith in it. As it turns out, the first film was thoroughly embraced by fans and critics across the world with any risk clearly having paid off when Marvel were counting the reported $773 million it took at the box office. Expect much bigger, bolder, and weirder things in the sequel.

Yes, of course Groot is back in the thick of it even though we - momentarily at least - thought he'd sacrificed himself near the end of the first movie. What's great is that we'll see essentially the same character (voiced by Diesel) return but as a tiny version of the once towering braun to Rocket.

The success of the first Guardians film was largely down to its writer-director James Gunn. It was actually his first major feature, having previously made films on a much smaller, indie scale. His ideas and mixture of a space-hopping adventure with healthy splashings of comedy and emotion really worked. We're all expecting more of the same here.

It's true. Not only is Hollywood royalty Kurt Russell featuring in the sequel but he's playing the role of Ego which, if the Marvel comic book world is anything to go by, means he will be a vaguely anthropomorphised planet-face thing. Assuming he's in it for more than a few scenes, there's every chance we will get a glimpse of the character in human form. Oh, and did we mention that *SPOILER* he's Star-Lord's dad? Pretty big news to be honest.

Along with the first poster, Marvel also dropped the first teaser trailer and the brief footage we do see is plenty to get anyone excited for more crazy space capers with Star-Lord and co. Using the song Hooked on a Feeling is a good call to remind us of how awesome the soundtrack for the original movie was, so here's hoping this has an equally impressive collection of musical delights.

(Warning: Third party video may contain adverts)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 is in UK cinemas on 28 April, 2017.