One of the more intriguing additions to the cast of Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 is Sylvester Stallone. The actor's role was kept under wraps until just weeks before the film's release, but by now everyone knows he's portraying Starhawk — one of the original Guardians of the Galaxy in the comics. He's not in the film much, but he does show up in a key scene at the end of the movie where he teams up with a motley crew of heroes. So who is Sylvester Stallone's crew in Guardians 2? Minor spoilers to follow.
During the film, it's revealed that Yondu and some other Ravagers, including Starhawk, used to be members of a team that was very similar to Peter Quill's Guardians of the Galaxy team, and Starhawk is seen reuniting them during one of the film's five post-credits scenes. And yes, they are meant to represent the so-called original Guardians of the Galaxy team, as director James Gunn and Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige have revealed. "They’re definitely the original Guardians," Feige said at a recent press conference, according to Screen Rant's Rob Keyes. "That was the fun of it and when James had the idea to do more with the Yondu character – who is also an original Guardian – there was the notion that he had a team once like Peter does now." So who makes up this original Guardians team?
In the comics, the original Guardians of the Galaxy were Yondu, Starhawk, Starhawk's sister Aleta Ogord, Charlie-27, Vance Astro, Martinex, and Nikki. The film version keeps some of these members, but swaps out a few others for even more obscure characters. In the scene where the team unites, Stallone's Starhawk is of course present, as is his sister Aleta, portrayed by Michelle Yeoh. There's also Charlie-27, played by Ving Rhames, who in the comics is from Jupiter and therefore is far stronger and denser than a human. Then there's Mainframe, an android voiced by Miley Cyrus, who in the comics is an alternate version of the Avenger Vision. Rounding out the crew in the film is Krugarr, a worm-like type of alien known as a Lem, who in the comics is a pupil of, and eventual successor to, Doctor Strange. So will we see more of this original Guardians team in a future film?
Probably. The specifics of Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are still being worked out, but there are two details that stand out. The first is that Gunn is highly involved in crafting the next series of Marvel movies — not just Guardians movies — and the second is that the cosmic side of the MCU will be greatly expanding. That should leave plenty of room for characters like the original Guardians, and Gunn has said as much, according to Screen Rant: "With all the post-credits scenes on this movie, they’re all funny and fun, and most of them are things we hope to see continue on in the MCU. Whether that’s a supporting role in future movies or whatever, I think it would be great to see those things and those characters show up."
So I hope you like the Stallone-led original lineup of the Guardians of the Galaxy, because odds are you're going to see them in action in a future Marvel film.
