James Gunn Wants To Build Sylvester Stallone Into MCU Future

WARNING: Spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 follow

James Gunn is hoping to make Sylvester Stallone an integral part of the MCU's future. When Marvel ended the first Guardians of the Galaxy film with just the vague promise that the group would go on to do both a little bit of bad and a little bit of good, it wasn't especially clear what the future of the team actually was. But to his credit, writer and director James Gunn has used this year's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as a way to continue the evolution and growth of the actual Guardians team in some meaningful, poignant ways. The evidence of that can even just be seen by comparing the Guardians lineup from the two films, with the sequel officially bringing in new members like Nebula (Karen Gillan), Mantis (Pom Klementieff), and Yondu (Michael Rooker) to the team.

Yet, one of the more exciting and unexpected additions that Vol. 2 brings to the Guardians franchise is that of Sylvester Stallone's Starhawk a.k.a. Stakar Ogord, one of the key members of the original Guardians team from the comics. His identity was kept a secret for an understandably long time by Gunn, Stallone, and Marvel, but now that Stakar's involvement in the sequel has been revealed, along with appearances from a number of the other original Guardians of the Galaxy team members, many fans have begun speculating and asking what exactly Sylvester Stallone's future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe may end up being.

During a recent interview with the Toronto Sun, Gunn expressed his interest in bringing the legendary actor back into the fold in the future Marvel films, even going so far as to say that he's already been talking with Stallone about the possibility:

“It’s my plan to have Sly — and I talked to him last night — to find a place for him in the future of the Marvel Universe.”

This is something that Gunn has already hinted at and expressed an interest in during the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 press tour previously, after teasing that the current lineup of Guardians may drastically change or be done with after the already announced Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. So if Marvel does indeed end up moving on from the Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) led version of the team, it's plausible to assume that the studio could consider focusing on the Stakar/Starhawk lineup instead, depending on how well Stallone's take on the character is received when Vol. 2 is released in theaters next week.

It's even been revealed that one of the film's five post-credits scenes focuses solely on Stakar and his fellow team members, including Charlie-27 (Ving Rhames), Aleta/Starhawk #1 (Michelle Yeoh), Mainframe (Miley Cyrus), and more. Now, how exactly the promise of that post-credits scene pans out in the future Marvel films will all have to wait to be seen, whether Stakar and his fellow Guardians wind up becoming important players down the line, or just recurring supporting characters in the films. For what it's worth, Stallone's hasn't wasted much time expressing his excitement and appreciation for the MCU either.