Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn tempered expectations for Michael Rosenbaum and Sylvester Stallone to reprise their roles in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Rosenbaum, who plays Martinex, had raised expectation that both he and Stallone, who plays Stakar Ogord , might return for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Rosenbaum told ComicBook.com, “[Martinex] was one of the original Guardians of the Galaxy.” He added, “When James told me about it, he says, ‘Hey, you know this is something that could be… It’s not a huge part in the first one, but you’re in the end credits and there’s a good chance you’re gonna come back.'”
He continued, “So I was like, ‘Of course, yeah, let’s do it.'”
However, James Gunn weighed in stating, “For the record, I think Michael Rosenbaum was simply saying that the plan was for them to come back in the MCU at some point – not necessarily in Vol. 3.”
For the record, I think @michaelrosenbum was simply saying that the plan was for them to come back in the MCU at some point – not necessarily in Vol 3.
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) April 28, 2020
Deep Cuts Into The Comics
Martinex T’Naga made his debut in the comics in Marvel Super-Heroes #18 in January of 1969. The book presents the original Guardians of the Galaxy, as written by Arnold Drake with art by Gene Colan.
Martinex is a crystalline humanoid from Pluto (back when it was still considered a planet in our solar system). He is gifted with thermokineses, enhanced vision, and the ability to shoot lasers from his hands. The lasers are either heat to burn enemies or cold to freeze them in place.
Martinex appeared in the end credits of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, alongside other characters like Stallone’s Stakar Ogord (Starhawk), Michelle Yeoh’s Aleta Ogord (also Starhawk?) the sister to Stakar, Ving Rhames as Charlie-27, and Mainframe played by Miley Cyrus.
Stakar and Aleta Ogord made their debut in Defenders #27 by Steve Gerber, Sal Buscema, and Vince Colletta in May of 1969. The character of Starhawk is a combination of the two, as the brother and sister are merged in the comics. At some point the characters separate. And at that point Aleta starts a relationship with Vance Astro, the original leader for the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Mainframe is sort of the alternate reality counterpart of Vision from the Avengers. It is the operating system for a planet, and is part of the Galactic Guardians in the early 90’s.
A number of those characters were major players in the Guardians 3000 comic. The series ran for 8 issues back in 2014 and was written by Dan Abnett with art by Gerardo Sandoval.
Ending The Series With The OG’s
With James Gunn clarifying that the original members of the Guardians might not show up for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but in another Marvel film, this opens up some crossover possibilities.
The Guardians of the Galaxy did appear in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. So this team of older members could make an appearance in a larger ensemble film in the future or even take on roles in future Disney Plus shows.
Which may be a good thing? We have yet to hear mention of the original leader of the team, Vance Astro. And the iconic villains of the Guardians, the Badoon, have yet to make an appearance as well.
What do you think about seeing Rosenbaum and Stallone one more time as the original Guardians of the Galaxy? Sound off in the comments below or let’s talk about it on social media!