This article will contain spoilers for GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2, so keep that in mind! The much anticipated sequel will finally hit theaters next week, but we've already been hearing quite a lot about the importance that the Marvel Cosmic Universe will have following the conclusion of the third phase of Marvel movies. As we begin to explore the Cosmic side of Marvel's universe, we'll also be introduced to characters who will become much more prominent, such as the one played by Sylvester Stallone in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2. We already knew that Stallone was playing someone "very important to the Marvel Universe," and now we know exactly who that is. Here come the spoilers.
Sylvester Stallone plays Stakar in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2, also known as Starhawk, a high-ranking member of the Ravagers who has a history with Yondu (Michael Rooker). While speaking with the Toronto Sun, James Gunn said that his plan is "to see more of him. I’m not sure about him appearing in Vol. 3, we’ll have to see about that, but it’s our plan to see more of Stallone. Kevin (Feige) and I are working on what is going to become of the Marvel Cosmic Universe and where it’s going to go. We plan to see the rest of them in the future." The "them" which Gunn refers to is the original Guardians team, who Stakar reunites with in one of the movie's mid-credit sequences. The team consists of Aleta Ogord (Michelle Yeoh), Charlie-27 (Ving Rhames), Martinex (Michael Rosenbaum) Mainframe (Miley Cyrus) and Krugarr (a CG character).
As James Gunn has said that the story of the current team will come to an end with GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, it's probably a good bet that we'll be seeing more of Sylvester Stallone's Stakar and his buddies in future MCU movies. Gunn added that he is "helping to plant the seeds that will lead to the next decade" as well as deciding "what projects we’ll be pursuing outside of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3… and what the next cosmic characters we will focus on." GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 is set for a May 5, 2017 release, so why not check out a review from our own Eric Walkuski!