While Guardians of the Galaxy star Michael Rooker has become known for his role as the blue-skinned Ravager Yondu Udonta, the actor was initially going to play Djimon Hounsou's character Korath the Pursuer.
According to Rooker, he always wanted to play Yondu, but thought it would be impossible due to his schedule on The Walking Dead. "I was at the airport and [director] James [Gunn] and I had just spoken, and we were like, 'Oh man, sh-t, this Walking Dead thing is still going on. You're shooting the film, Guardians 1, right when we’re filming the season.' And so I was gonna play another role in Guardians of the Galaxy," Rooker said at GalaxyCon Richmond.
Shortly thereafter, Rooker found out he would able to take the role of Yondu because his Walking Dead character was going to be killed off. "I left that conversation and I got out my cell phone, I said, 'Hey Gunn, guess what? They just killed my ass off, dude. I can do Yondu.' And he goes, 'Sh-t, yeah!!' And that's how it worked out," he explained.
Rooker played The Walking Dead character Merle Dixon from Season 1 to Season 3. The actor has collaborated with James Gunn on several films besides Guardians of the Galaxy, including Slither and The Belko Experiment.
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The upcoming third installment of the Guardians of the Galaxy is set to be directed by James Gunn and will likely not feature Yondu, due to the character's death in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
via ComicBook.com