The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Guardians of the Galaxy movies have been awash with pop culture references, and James Gunn even roped in a few 1980s icons for good measure. Tango & Cash co-stars Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell both appeared in Vol. 2, while a running David Hasselhoff joke was paid off with a surprise cameo, not to mention a contribution to the soundtrack.
Another name that’s been mentioned on several occasions is that of Kevin Bacon, one of Peter Quill’s many childhood heroes thanks to Footloose, who the rest of the Guardians probably genuinely believe is one of Earth’s most famous defenders, so there’s every chance they may have been expecting him to lend an assist in the battle against Thanos.
The actor has previous experience with James Gunn, having ironically stepped in to replace another 80s favorite when he played Jacques in black comedy Super after Jean-Claude Van Damme dropped out, and in a new interview, the 62 year-old once again reiterated his desire to show up alongside the Guardians.
“Listen, I love the idea. I would love to be part of that. When I saw Guardians of the Galaxy, I went to see it having no idea that I was discussed. It was an afternoon in New York, I was on 67th Street and went by myself, as I often do.. I was like, ‘Holy sh*t. They’re talking about me. Are you guys getting this?’.”
Vol. 3 is set to kick off production before the end of the year, with the Disney Plus Holiday Special being filmed at the same time, so there are two opportunities for Kevin Bacon to make his presence felt in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. In the majority of cases, such a piece of blatant stunt casting could stretch the limits of credibility, but Gunn’s band of intergalactic misfits are already the most irreverent and self-aware heroes in the MCU, at least until Deadpool finally arrives, so it would make complete sense. Not only that, but you can guarantee that it’d bring huge laughs in the theater, as well as putting the exclamation point on a gag that was first dropped in 2014.
