Before the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, word got out that writer/director James Gunn had been hoping to find room for David Bowie in the film before the legendary artist left this plane of existence in January 2016. Bowie, of course, would have been a perfect fit for this universe, as his Ziggy Stardust character in the 1970s already looked and sounded like he belonged in the cosmic MCU. Meanwhile, the utterly flawless Moonage Daydream made it to the soundtrack of the first film, while Suffragette City was used in marketing for the sequel.

In honour of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 arriving on Blu-ray, Gunn took to Facebook Live to answer a whole mess of fan questions, and of course, the mystery of David Bowie’s role came up.

“I did talk to Mr. Bowie’s people about him being in a cameo,” Gunn confirmed on Facebook. “It would have been as one of the Ravagers along with Michelle Yeoh, Ving Rhames, Sylvester Stallone, and Michael Rosenbaum. Unfortunately, David Bowie passed away.”

That’s all Mr. Gunn had to say on the subject, but knowing that Bowie would have been one of the Ravagers, and he’s named in the same breath as Sylvester Stallone, Michelle Yeoh, and Michael Rosenbaum is going to allow me to do some serious speculation here. Please note that this is only my own wishful thinking at work here and nothing Mr. Gunn said or actually hinted at.

Ready?

All of the other “big name” Ravagers that we met during those post-credits sequences pretty much make up the roster of Marvel’s original Guardians Of The Galaxy team. You had Sylvester Stallone as Stakar ‘Starhawk’ Ogord, Ving Rhames as Charlie-27, Michael Rosenbaum as the crystalline Martinex, Michelle Yeoh as Aleta Ogord, and more. There’s one character from the original Guardians lineup who is glaringly absent from this string of celebrity cameos: Major Vance Astro. 

In the Marvel Universe, Vance Astro volunteered for the first manned interstellar space mission, with the knowledge he would never return to Earth. In other words, Vance Astro’s origin story, is kind of like the lyrics of David Bowie’s Space Oddity, which deals with an astronaut lost in the cosmos and losing touch with Earth.

Again, Gunn said nothing about this in that Facebook Live chat. This is just me connecting the dots and maybe engaging in a little wishful thinking. But we don’t get to see Vance Astro on screen in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2, and I’d like to imagine that it’s because that role was being held for Bowie. Hell, if there were cosmic Marvel movies getting made in the 1970s, Bowie would have made for an awesome Adam Warlock, too.

James Gunn is prolific on Twitter, so I imagine this will be debunked by the time you read this. Mostly, I just really miss living in a universe with David Bowie still in it and wanted an excuse to write about him. 

Before the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, word got out that writer/director James Gunn had been hoping to find room for David Bowie in the film before the legendary artist left this plane of existence in January 2016. Bowie, of course, would have been a perfect fit for this universe, as his Ziggy Stardust character in the 1970s already looked and sounded like he belonged in the cosmic MCU. Meanwhile, the utterly flawless Moonage Daydream made it to the soundtrack of the first film, while Suffragette City was used in marketing for the sequel.

In honour of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 arriving on Blu-ray, Gunn took to Facebook Live to answer a whole mess of fan questions, and of course, the mystery of David Bowie’s role came up.

“I did talk to Mr. Bowie’s people about him being in a cameo,” Gunn confirmed on Facebook. “It would have been as one of the Ravagers along with Michelle Yeoh, Ving Rhames, Sylvester Stallone, and Michael Rosenbaum. Unfortunately, David Bowie passed away.”

That’s all Mr. Gunn had to say on the subject, but knowing that Bowie would have been one of the Ravagers, and he’s named in the same breath as Sylvester Stallone, Michelle Yeoh, and Michael Rosenbaum is going to allow me to do some serious speculation here. Please note that this is only my own wishful thinking at work here and nothing Mr. Gunn said or actually hinted at.

Ready?

All of the other “big name” Ravagers that we met during those post-credits sequences pretty much make up the roster of Marvel’s original Guardians Of The Galaxy team. You had Sylvester Stallone as Stakar ‘Starhawk’ Ogord, Ving Rhames as Charlie-27, Michael Rosenbaum as the crystalline Martinex, Michelle Yeoh as Aleta Ogord, and more. There’s one character from the original Guardians lineup who is glaringly absent from this string of celebrity cameos: Major Vance Astro. 

In the Marvel Universe, Vance Astro volunteered for the first manned interstellar space mission, with the knowledge he would never return to Earth. In other words, Vance Astro’s origin story, is kind of like the lyrics of David Bowie’s Space Oddity, which deals with an astronaut lost in the cosmos and losing touch with Earth.

Again, Gunn said nothing about this in that Facebook Live chat. This is just me connecting the dots and maybe engaging in a little wishful thinking. But we don’t get to see Vance Astro on screen in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2, and I’d like to imagine that it’s because that role was being held for Bowie. Hell, if there were cosmic Marvel movies getting made in the 1970s, Bowie would have made for an awesome Adam Warlock, too.

James Gunn is prolific on Twitter, so I imagine this will be debunked by the time you read this. Mostly, I just really miss living in a universe with David Bowie still in it and wanted an excuse to write about him.