Sylvester Stallone heavily teases, if not confirms, his return in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as Stakar Ogord, a.k.a. Starhawk. Thanks to the first film's massive success, director James Gunn was able to convince some big names to join the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise for its first sequel. This included Kurt Russell as Ego the Living Planet and Sylvester Stallone, whose involvement was revealed thanks to the paparazzi. Stallone's role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was as the leader of the Ravagers, as his role was closely tied to Yondu's story.

Despite having a small role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Gunn left fans with a tease that Stallone's Starhawk could come back for more adventures. One of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2's five post-credit scenes showed Stakar assemble his own Guardians of the Galaxy team with Charlie-27 (Ving Rhames), Aleta Ogord (Michelle Yeoh), Martinex (Michael Rosenbaum), Mainframe (Miley Cyrus), and Krugarr. Gunn never confirmed that the team would be back in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, although he repeatedly has stated his desire to bring them back in some capacity. Now, it appears that at least part of the team will return in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

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In a new post on his Instagram, Stallone teases that he's on set shooting Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 right now. He shared a look at some of the film's technology used to capture the actor's facial expressions. Stallone says that he's on the set of a Guardians of the Galaxy film but doesn't outright confirm that this is the threequel that just started filming. Although the star is wearing similar clothes as he did in other recent posts, there is a small chance this video was taken when he filmed scenes for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. For that reason, it can't be said that Stallone is officially back for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 just yet, even if it seems very likely.

The timing of Stallone's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 tease comes shortly after Gunn confirmed the start of production in Atlanta, Georgia. Gunn shared the first cast photo from the movie in the process, but Stallone was not included in it - presumably because he's been busy promoting his director's cut of Rocky IV. Now that the extended cut has been released, Stallone should be free to film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. He would join fellow stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Will Poulter, Sean Gunn, Pom Klementieff, and Chukwudi Iwuji as actors confirmed to have started work on the movie already.

If Stallone returns as Starhawk in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, it will be fascinating to see how big of a role he has. Audiences shouldn't expect him to have a massive part, but hopefully his return will see him take on a slightly larger one than before. It will also be worth monitoring if any of his other Guardians join him. Based on the previous tease, it would be quite odd if Stakar returns without Aleta, Charlie-27, Martinex, and the rest of the team. However, now that Michelle Yeoh found a second MCU role in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, perhaps she won't come back as Aleta. She'll otherwise become the first person to play two different live-action MCU roles simultaneously. Now that Stallone has possibly spoiled their return, hopefully Starhawk's team's return in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be confirmed soon.

More: How Marvel Has Already Changed Adam Warlock's Story

Source: Sylvester Stallone

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