Michael Rooker Explains Why Yondu Didn’t Always Have A Huge Mohawk

The first Guardians of the Galaxy introduced a lot of people to some of the most obscure superheroes in Marvel’s vast library. Though characters like Star-Lord, Gamora, Groot, Rocket, and Drax have existed for decades, but they didn’t even exist as Guardians of the Galaxy until the Marvel comic by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, Paul Pelletier, Rick Magyar, and Nathan Fairbairn.

One of the film’s breakout characters comes from the original Guardians team from the ’70s—the red-mohawked, blue-skinned Yondu. Played by Michael Rooker in the film, this version of the character was different from his comic book counterpart, with their main similarities being a name and whistle-powered arrow.

Even Yondu’s mohawk is different in the films and in the first movie it was much smaller than how it appears in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which is more comparable to his comic book counterpart.

Rooker spoke with ScreenCrush regarding his meatier role in the latest Guardians flick, revealing just why the mohawk was different in the first film.

“One ship was … the ceiling was too low,” Rooker said. “There was a couple of vital scenes that we’re doing and it was a little too … I would have hit my head. I would have had to duck down and scrunch over.”

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So there wasn’t some cosmetic reason or in-story purpose behind the change, it was just practical with the production of the set.

“Dude, at least that’s the reason they told me,” Rooker added. “They lie to actors all the time. You know these directors and producers lie to us all the time. ‘No, no, no, we can’t do that because of this and this.’ But in reality they just don’t have the money in the budget to make the ceiling higher, okay? Yeah, that’s what they had mentioned. It was low.”

While the shorter, protruding metallic mohawk helped establish Yondu’s aesthetic in the first film, sequels are about going bigger and bolder and that attitude is matched with the bigger version of the ‘do.

Hopefully Rooker sports an even bigger mohawk in Avengers: Infinity War, something reminiscent of an ’80s gutterpunk.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hits theaters this Friday.

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Set to the backdrop of ‘Awesome Mixtape #2,’ Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is written and directed by James Gunn (Slither). The film marks the return of the original Guardians, including Chris Pratt (Jurassic World) as Peter Quill/Star-Lord; Zoe Saldana (Star Trek Into Darkness) as Gamora; Dave Bautista (Spectre) as Drax; Vin Diesel (Furious 7) as the voice of Groot; Bradley Cooper (American Sniper) as the voice of Rocket; Michael Rooker (Jumper) as Yondu; Karen Gillan (The Big Short) as Nebula; and Sean Gunn (Gilmore Girls) as Kraglin. New cast members include Pom Klementieff (Oldboy), Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby, Everest), Chris Sullivan (The Knick, The Drop) and Kurt Russell (The Hateful Eight, The Thing).