Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 director James Gunn revealed in a Facebook Q&A that he wanted legendary rock star David Bowie to appear as a member of the Ravagers team, Yondu's old crew who once were the original Guardians of the Galaxy. In the movie, the Ravagers are played by Sylvester Stallone, Michelle Yeoh, Michael Rosenbaum, Ving Rhames and Miley Cyrus as the voice of the computer Mainframe.

Gunn revealed in a previous interview that he was a huge fan of Bowie, and that he and Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige sought him out for a role in Guardians 2. Unfortunately, Bowie was not well at the time and could not do the part. The rock star known for Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, Hunky Dory, Aladdin Sane and other classic albums passed away from cancer in early 2016.

In a Facebook Q&A, James Gunn told fans the particular role he had in mind for Bowie to play had he been able to secure the star's services. "I wanted David Bowie to play a member of Yondu's original crew," Gunn said. Yondu's former crew The Ravagers appear twice in Guardians 2, now led by Sylvester Stallone who reveals that Yondu was kicked out of the group for kidnapping a child. At the film's end, the Ravagers return to pay homage to the deceased Yondu with a fireworks display.

David Bowie Labyrinth movie

In addition to being a groundbreaking musician and performer, Bowie also was an on-and-off movie star, appearing in a number of notable films over the years. Probably his most famous role was Jareth the Goblin King in the 1986 Jim Henson fantasy film Labyrinth. Bowie also made a memorable appearance as Nikola Tesla in Christopher Nolan's 2006 film The Prestige. The pop star worked with David Lynch in Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, playing the mysterious role of haunted FBI man Philip Jefferies, a character who is still stirring things up (albeit from off-screen) in this year's Twin Peaks revival series.

As an on-stage performer, Bowie was known for creating an array of bizarre and distinctive characters, including his ultimate creation the extra-terrestrial rock star Ziggy Stardust. For the man who created Ziggy Stardust and sang such spectral cosmic rock songs as "Space Oddity" and "Star Man" to appear in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as an alien in the same crew as Sylvester Stallone, another icon of the 1970s, would have been an almost mind-blowing pop culture assemblage. It's sad that James Gunn and company were not able to make this landmark moment happen, but at least the Ravagers' appearance left us with some good memories, including the amazing footage of Stallone trying and failing to say the word "Ravagers."

Speculation continues to fly that Stallone and his fellow Ravagers could show up in the MCU again at some point in the future. James Gunn said in a recent interview that he is still looking at the possibility of spinning off a Ravagers film, after previously revealing that he had big plans for Stallone's character Stakar.

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Source: James Gunn