When you have a team that continues to grow like the Guardians of the Galaxy, who will have a few new members when the sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hits theaters this May, sometimes it's best to break it down into pairs of two. Today we have four new posters which splits up this superhero team into dynamic duos. These posters feature Star-Lord and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) together, along with, fittingly, the two blue-skinned characters Yondu (Michael Rooker) and Nebula (Karen Gillan), longtime partners Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) and finally the unique pairing of Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) alongside newcomer Mantis (Pom Klementieff).
These international posters, which debuted on IMP Awards, feature mostly the pairings one would expect, for those who have been following this hit franchise. It's been quite clear from the early trailers that there has been some tension between Chris Pratt's Star-Lord and Zoe Saldana's Gamora, with an early trailer featuring a scene where Drax informs Star-Lord that there are two types of people in this world, those who like to dance, and those who don't, adding that Star-Lord just needs to find someone "pathetic," like him. Another trailer featured an awkward exchange where Chris Pratt takes note of Gamora using a gun, which he thought was his "thing." We'll have to wait until May 5 to see how this unique relationship unfolds in the sequel.
The Yondu and Nebula poster is fitting in a few different ways, but most notably because they are the two characters who have blue skin. They also deserve to be on the same poster together because they are both new additions to the team, who were essentially antagonists for the Guardians throughout the first film, although not quite as villainous as Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace), but in this sequel, they both join the team. While it isn't clear what happened that lead Nebula to join her sister, Yondu joined because he was kicked out of his group known as the Ravagers, because he refused to punish Star-Lord, who he essentially raised himself, after he double-crossed the Ravagers at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy.
The Rocket and Baby Groot poster is another obvious choice, especially since, before the events of the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, they had been longtime partners, although their dynamic has changed quite a bit. In the first movie, one of the most iconic shots featured Rocket hanging onto the massive Groot while shooting a machine gun at his enemies, but in this sequel, it's quite the opposite, with Baby Groot hanging onto Rocket. While Baby Groot certainly lacks the size of his previous version, we've seen in previously-released footage that he can still extend his tree-like limbs to stop his enemies.
The last poster features what could be an interesting duo, with Drax the Destroyer teaming up with newcomer Mantis. While very little is known about how Mantis fits into the story, it's possible that she may become a romantic interest for the loner Drax, who is still mourning the loss of his family, but that is only speculation at this point. Still, we'll find out in just a few short weeks when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hits theaters nationwide on May 5. Take a look at these new posters below featuring the new and old members of the Guardians of the Galaxy in this upcoming sequel.
