James Gunn recently added a little more fuel to the speculation fire when he described Sylvester Stallone’s mysterious role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as “very important to the Marvel universe” — and it’s definitely not a one-and-done situation. But who is he playing, exactly? There’s been a healthy amount of guessing, mostly based on early set photos of Stallone sporting a costume that drew comparisons to Judge Dredd. While Gunn himself remains mum on the specifics of Stallone’s role, two new pieces of info have emerged that may have finally tipped us off.

The first is a press release from Italian publication MoviesBook (via /Film), with the significant portion revealed below:

I’ll save you a trip to Google Translate: “One of the press releases of #Guardians of the Galaxy where #SylvesterStallone is referred to as #Stakar (#Starhawk)!”

Some fans had speculated this might be the case based on that Dredd-esque costume, but for those unfamiliar, here’s the deal: Stakar Ogord, aka Starhawk, is a powerful cosmic being and the offspring of Quasar and Kismet — the latter of whom is also known as Her, Paragon and…Ayesha, the villain played by Elizabeth Debicki in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. It’s possible that Gunn’s version of Stakar / Starhawk isn’t a descendant of Ayesha, but that his story is still connected to hers.

/Film points out another potential clue, originally noted by MCU Exchange, which seems to support the idea that Stallone is playing Starhawk: In the YA novelization for the Guardians sequel, Michael Rooker’s Yondu crosses paths with a particularly notorious Ravager, and although his name is never revealed, the anonymous character name-drops Aleta — who happens to be Starhawk’s sister.

Convincing clue, mere coincidence, or clever misdirection? We only have a few weeks before all is revealed when Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hits theaters on May 5.

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