Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: What is Sylvester Stallone's role in the film?

Perhaps the most hotly-anticipated movie of the summer, Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, is just a few short weeks away from release. This sci-fi action sequel to the unlikely 2014 blockbuster sensation will reunite the Marvel universe’s ragtag group of misfits for another adventure, sailing the cosmic seas and saving the day with style.  While Guardians Vol. 2 will see the return of the entire main cast of the original film (sans Ronan the Accuser, that is), it will also introduce a handful of new players to the scene, including Kurt Russell as Ego the Living Planet, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, and Chris Sullivan as the amusingly-named Taserface. One more newcomer is Sylvester Stallone. Despite being one of the most high-profile castings in the film, director James Gunn and producer Kevin Feige are keeping the identity of his character a tightly-guarded secret. Fans won’t know for sure just who he’s playing until the the film hits theatres on 5 May. But there are many fan theories going around, ofcourse.  MoviesBookIT on Twitter has shared a rather revealing press release for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 that appears to confirm who Stallone is playing. If this is indeed true, Stallone is playing none other than Stakar Ogord, a.k.a. Starhawk. Starkhawk is a part of ‘The Ravagers’ team along with one of the villains of the previous film, Yondu. Yondu was responsible for kidnapping Starlord in the first film.

While the legitimacy of this release can be rightfully questioned, the information seems true.  MCU Exchange ran a speculation piece about Stallone’s role before this release came out, sighting a passage from the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Junior Novel. In chapter eight of this book, Yondu encounters “a legend among the Ravagers” who mentions Aleta (Starhawk’s sister) by name. Yondu’s conversation with this Ravager legend ends with the character believed to be Stallone’s Starhawk exiling Yondu from the group, saying he “won’t hear no Horns of Freedom when you die, and the colors of Ogord will not flash over your grave.” So will we be seeing Sylvester Stallone playing StarHawk? [caption id=“attachment_3395364” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Illustration of Starhawk. Image via Twitter.[/caption] All we know for sure is that the director had teased early on that Stallone’s cameo would be important to the Guardians story and the larger Marvel Universe, but not necessarily qualify as a huge role in this first appearance.