Amidst all the big names in “Guardian Of The Galaxy Vol. 2” — not just the returning quintet of Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, but also newcomers Kurt Russell and Elizabeth Debicki — there’s one name who’s mostly been absent from the movie’s gargantuan marketing efforts, arguably a bigger star than any of the others. As has been reported for a while now, Sylvester Stallone has a supporting role in the film, one that could suggest an ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe presence for the veteran “Rocky” star. But if rumors are to be believed, it’s not the only space adventure that Stallone might have in the works.
According to Splash Report (who have a reasonable track record with this sort of thing), Stallone is apparently 20th Century Fox’s first choice to star in a project called “Starlight.” If you have a longish memory, you’ll know that the studio has been developing this since 2014 — it’s an adaptation of a comic by “Kick-Ass” and “Kingsman” creator Mark Millar, which “Rogue One” co-writer Gary Whitta has been scripting.
The story is a riff on Buck Rogers/Flash Gordon-style space adventures, following Duke McQueen, a retired hero who, after the death of his wife, is called back into the cosmos for one last adventure. It’s not a dissimilar character and vibe to his ‘Guardians’ character in some ways, so it’s a little surprising that Stallone would be planning both, but with the heat from the Marvel movie on top of the success of “Creed” and his Oscar nomination, it’s not totally implausible.
As far as we know, there’s no director attached, and this should all be taken with a pinch of salt at this point, but keep an eye out for further news and confirmation on the project.