Even James Gunn Wants A Michael Rooker Mary Poppins Returns Cameo To Happen

Yondu with his large fin in Guardians 2

Minor spoilers ahead for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Although it was released a few weeks ago, conversation regarding James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 have only continued to send the internet spinning. The 15th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe brought all of the humor and heart of the first Guardians film, while also expanding the franchise and its layered set of protagonists. One of these fascinating characters is Michael Rooker's Yondu, who was hilariously equated to Mary Poppins twice during the film's runtime. This has since broken the internet, with memes galore and even custom Funko Pops being created of Yondu with a magical umbrella and carpet bag.

One such meme was recently shared by James Gunn himself, who obviously finds the comparison between the two drastically different fictional characters hilarious. And when a fan suggested that Michael Rooker make a cameo in Disney's upcoming Mary Poppins Returns, Gunn seemed pretty enthusiastic. Check it out.

James Gunn's facebook comment

As you can see from the above Facebook interaction, James Gunn fully supports a Michael Rooker cameo in Mary Poppins Returns. And with both the fandom and Gunn on board, now we just have to convince the higher ups at the House of Mouse to put the Walking Dead alum in the project.

While Michael Rooker isn't the first actor you'd think to cast in a family friendly movie musical, both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Mary Poppins Returns are owned by Disney (along with basically every other major property). So Rooker's work with the studio on the Guardians of the Galaxy films may be strong enough that Disney decides to give Michael Rooker a quick cameo. Stranger things have happened.

Then again, Disney is already taking a major risk by producing Mary Poppins Returns in the first place. Giving the beloved 1964 classic new life is quite the gamble, especially since original stars Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke have obviously had to be replaced. Emily Blunt and Lin-Manuel Miranda's performances will be looked at with magnifying glasses, as will the new set of musical numbers. So adding an obligatory Guardians of the Galaxy reference into an already challenging film project might not be the wisest move.

Then again, Guardians of the Galaxy is one of the MCU's most popular franchises, so anything is possible at this point. If nothing else, let's hope the House of Mouse will at least extend James Gunn and Michael Rooker an invitation to the premiere.

You can currently catch Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in theaters, and Mary Poppins returns will arrive on December 25, 2018. In the meantime, check out our full 2017 premiere list and plan your next trip to the movies.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.