Previously, we reported that the growing cast list for Avengers: Infinity War had seemingly added Michael Rooker to its ranks - reprising his role as Yondu from Guardians of the Galaxy - when the actor took a selfie at Starbucks while wearing an Infinity War-branded beanie hat. If the hint proves to be true, Rooker would be joined by the majority of his GOTG pals including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana and Karen Gillan, as well as Sean Gunn as Rocket who have all been confirmed as participating in the upcoming battle against Thanos.

With Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 due out later this year, there will plenty for Yondu to do before joining the fray however, especially as the movie's trailers and marketing campaign have painted the character as a bona fide good guy this time around, standing side by side with the other Guardians and seemingly helping them in their next quest.

With news that Yondu will likely be taking part in Infinity War out of the bag, actor Michael Rooker has taken to Instagram again to seemingly confirm his involvement and poke fun at his previous beanie hat selfie post. The post sees Rooker now attempting to cover up the Infinity War logo on his hat with a small piece of tape - apparently having been instructed to do so - however, much to the disappointment of his colleagues, Rooker hasn't quite got the hang of this 'secrecy' malarkey.

Many had suspected that with the introduction of Peter Quill's real father, Ego, as well as Yondu seemingly losing control of his Ravagers in GOTG2, that the fan-favorite character might be in line for an emotional death in the forthcoming sequel but his involvement in the next Avengers installment seems to put paid to those theories. It'll also be interesting to see what side Yondu may be fighting for in the forthcoming intergalactic scrap. Whilst he certainly seems to be a protagonist in the next GOTG movie, his criminal instincts could kick in when faced with a threat as large and seemingly unbeatable as Thanos.

Rooker's role in Infinity War would represent another addition to what may well be one of the most high-profile ensembles ever assembled for a single movie and this is perhaps fitting seeing as the Thanos arc is what the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been gearing up for ever since day one. In order to keep all of its individual characters relevant and strong in their own right, Marvel Studios can't afford to leave any superhero out of their forthcoming extravaganza.

On the other hand, many are arguing that Avengers: Infinity War is beginning to look increasingly bloated and the task of allowing each character a sufficient amount of screen time is looking ever more desperate with each casting announcement. Furthermore, since the movie has now been cut from a two-part feature to a single film (though, they are shooting concurrently), the character balancing act will no doubt be even more tricky and it's likely characters such as Yondu will have to make do with a bit-part role at best. Yondu could have more to do in the untitled Avengers 4, but time will tell.

Source: Michael Rooker (via Instagram)