Phase 3 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is set to be the biggest and strangest release window of the franchise to date. It's already a juggernaut of commercial and critical success as last year, Captain America: Civil War joined the billion dollar club and injected some much-needed drama to the ensemble formula, while Doctor Strange introduced the franchise to sorcery and the celestial plane. The scope has never been so large and the lay of the land less predictable, with the Avengers divided between the morals of Iron Man and Captain America, and a new Infinity Stone revealed on Earth.

The MCU will be taking a break from this Earth-based action in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 which will catch up with James Gunn's motley crew of heroes: Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), the immeasurably cute Baby Groot (Vin Diesel), and the addition of socially-unaware Mantis (Plom Klementieff).

Information about the highly-anticipated followup is coming thick and fast. James Gunn has teased the nature of the plot and offered a glimpse of the film's original soundtrack, but a recent highlight was easily a new trailer for the zany sequel which arrived during yesterday's Super Bowl. To celebrate this hype, a new set of Twitter emoji have been revealed by Regal Cinemas. Here's a pic of what the Guardians look like in emoji form:

The emoji for the Vol. 2 mixtape and each of the main heroes will crop up at the end of their associated tags, adding a little color to the Guardians Vol. 2 social media hype. There was no mention of forthcoming emoji for the villains, other heroes, or antiheroes, but when asked about a potential Karen Gillan emoji for her character Nebula, Regal Cinemas tweeted:

Michael Rooker's character Yondu occupied more of a grey area than the out and out villainy of Nebula in the first Guardians film. The mohawk-sporting ravager was something of a threat throughout, but came through for his surrogate son during the climactic battle. His role in the sequel remains unclear, however Baby Groot's words at the end of the Super Bowl trailer could shed some light on his allegiance: "Welcome to the guardians of the frickin' galaxy. Only he didn't use frickin". This could easily be a zingy one-liner to an enemy, or a literal invitation to join the crew delivered in the inimitable style of the uncouth group. Couple this with Karen Gillan's recent comments that Guardians Vol. 2 shows a new, more human side of Nebula, and fans could see more than just Mantis joining the ranks of galactic heroes.

Karen Gillan's Nebula is confirmed to appear in the titanic struggle of Avengers: Infinity War; whether alongside or against her brutal father, Thanos (Josh Brolin), remains to be seen. Maybe a redemptive arc in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be enough to score Nebula own Twitter emoji in the run up to Avengers: Infinity War.

NEXT: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Super Bowl Trailer Breakdown

Source: Regal Cinemas