Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is finally in production, and one star from the previous movie has now confirmed their return for the much-anticipated threequel. Sylvester Stallone was an unlikely addition to the MCU in Guardians Vol. 2, appearing in a minor supporting role as Stakar, the leader of the Ravagers. We were promised more of him in one of that film’s post-credits scenes, though, which teased Stakar reuniting with his fellow Ravager captains.
While we don’t know if the others will be back in Vol. 3 just yet, Stallone has revealed our first look at his return as Stakar with this new set photo. The Rambo icon shared the pic, which sees him in full costume as the character known as Starhawk in the comics, on Instagram this Monday morning. “Yes what’s coming your way? Keep Your guard up!” Stallone punned in his caption.
Following Yondu’s funeral, Stakar gathered the other captains and pitched the idea of them teaming up again—his gang included Aleta Ogoord (Michelle Yeoh), Charlie-27 (Ving Rhames), Martinex (Michael Rosenbaum), Mainframe (Miley Cyrus) and Krugarr. These characters, plus Yondu, make up the first generation of Guardians in the comics. While Stakar coming back hints at it, who knows if all these other big names will return, too? Yeoh just played a totally different MCU role in Shang-Chi, for instance.
Stallone joins all the usual faces, including Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Karen Gillan as Nebula and Pom Klementieff as Mantis. Two major newcomers have also been confirmed to be part of the cast. Namely, Will Poulter as Adam Warlock and Chukwudi Iwuji in an undisclosed — but apparently highly coveted — role.
Stallone’s MCU return follows his recent team-up with director James Gunn in DC’s The Suicide Squad, in which he voiced King Shark. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is scheduled to release on May 5, 2023.