Guardians Of The Galaxy 2 will feature a new alien character named Mantis, it has been revealed.

Director James Gunn gave fans a sneak peek of the new line-up, sharing a piece of concept art including fan favourites Drax, Groot, Yondu, Star-Lord (played by Chris Pratt), Rocket, Nebula and Gamora.

James said in a Facebook Live video: “I hope you like your first glimpse at the new Guardians of the Galaxy line-up. Some of the members are happier to be there than others, perhaps.”

But one unfamiliar face is an alien woman with antennae.

The character, Mantis, is an acquaintance of the Guardians and will be played by actress Pom Klementieff, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Executive producer Jonathan Schwartz said: “She has never really experienced social interaction. Everything she learns about dealing with people, she learns from the Guardians Of The Galaxy, which is a very weird group to learn your social intricacies from.”

Guardians Of The GalaxyThe Guardians Of The Galaxy (Disney/Marvel)

The end of the first Guardians film (spoiler alert!) saw Groot reduced to a tiny cutting and forced to regrow from scratch – and this will affect his personality, the producer explained. With Groot now very tiny, he is shown perched on Drax’s shoulder.

“He doesn’t have the wisdom and experience of that Groot,” Jonathan said.

“He’s a younger Groot and a more rambunctious Groot. The question is, is he the same Groot, just smaller? Or is he a different Groot that’s sprung up from the seed of the first Groot?”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 will be released in spring 2017.