At this point, it isn't like James Gunn or Marvel Studios need any help to build hype for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The first one was a massive success and anticipation is very high, not to mention it is all but confirmed Gunn will be bringing a presentation for the film to San Diego Comic-Con This year. But a new fan theory has surfaced that, as fan theories go, is actually pretty solid and would make us just that much more excited for the film. Be warned, potential spoilers ahead.

The theory was posted on Reddit by user SuperCoenBros and it postulates that the original 1969 version of the Guardians will appear in the film. It is worth noting that the user didn't come up with the theory, but sort of pooled together the best bits from a much larger discussion and condensed it down so that we could see the evidence, which is plentiful. A lot of it centers on the fact that Sharon Stone was recently cast in a Marvel film, but it hasn't yet been announced who she is playing or in what movie.

"One of Gunn's recent "what we shot Wednesdays" was a sketch of a close up on a face with the caption "her face wrapped in flame"..."

Some have theorized that Stone, partially based on Gunn's referenced comment about the face wrapped in flame and her own admision that she is plaing a superhero with heat powers, is playing Nikki, who was one of the original Guardians members who has the ability to withstand very high heat and radiation and is an excellent sharp shooter. After the idea of Stone playing Nikki took hold, the rest of the potential evidence that was already in front of us sort of starting falling into place. If this turns out to be true. Gunn and Marvel have already cast several of the other original Guardians team members.

"Holy shit, does that mean Stallone is Charlie-27? If Yondu hooks (back?) up with the OG GotG it would also be a Cliffhanger reunion."

We already know that Sylvester Stallone has been cast in the film in an unknown role and was at one point seen walking around the set with a Judge Dredd style helmet on. That would point to Sly potentially playing Charlie-27, who is a very large, muscle bound space soldier with superhuman strength. Though Sly isn't quite as big as the character is portrayed in the comics, he fits the archetype like a glove. Also, as another comment from the Reddit post points out, Yondu, who was played by Michael Rooker in the first GOTG, was indeed an original member of the team. The character was changed a lot for the film, but Gunn could easily put that into his backstory and have him reunite with some former teammates.

"If this is right, it seems quite plausible that Kurt Russel would play Stakar, AKA Starhawk, another OG GOTG. Why? He's the son of Kismet/Ayesha, who is believed to be the main villain of Vol. 2, played by Elizabeth Debicki. If Starhawk is his dad and Kismet is his grandma, it would make Vol. 2 a real family affair for Peter Quill."

Kurt Russell has indeed been cast in the film as well and many are speculating he will be playing the father of Chris Pratt's Star-Lord. If that is the case, Russell playing Starhawk, who in the comics is the son of Kismet, who is all but confirmed to be the villain of Vol. 2. That would be a nice way to put a bow on the family aspect of the film and tie most of the original Guardians team together. The only members that can't be accounted for are Vance Astro and Martinex, but it is possible they won't appear at all or that they simply haven't been cast yet. Odds are, they would both be mostly CGI, so they could very well get cast late in the process.

Elements of this theory are reaching a tiny bit, but for the most part it really feels like something Gunn would do and would be a great use of the cast at hand. The theory also points out that all of these actors are 80s action heroes which would be a great tie in with Quill's obsession with 80s culture. Also, there are rumors that Christopher Lloyd has a small voice role in the film, so he could be voicing one of the other original Guardians, which would be fantastic. We'll probably have to wait until at the very least San Diego Comic Con next month but probably much longer to find out if this is true or not. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 drops on May 5, 2017.