Tulsa King’s Marvel Alumni Bring Stakar Ogord, Crossbones and Nick Fury to the Cast

Tulsa King has a cast list that rewards a second look: several of its familiar faces have also played characters in Marvel’s film and television stories. Sylvester Stallone, Frank Grillo and Samuel L. Jackson lead that group, joined by Martin Starr and Neal McDonough. Their earlier roles range from space ranger Stakar Ogord to Nick Fury’s trusted ally Dum Dum Dugan.

That crossover adds a playful layer to Taylor Sheridan’s mob drama, which stars Stallone as Dwight “The General” Manfredi. After leaving prison, the New York Mafia captain is sent to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he sets about building a new operation. Now in its fourth season, the show puts Stallone at the center of a world that feels a long way from the cosmic adventures and superhero conflicts associated with some of his castmates.

Tulsa King returned to Paramount+ for season four on October 16. Before that premiere, the streamer had renewed the series for a fifth season; filming began in New York on October 5. The renewal gives the show’s expanding ensemble more room to develop, while a discussion on the Tulsa King subreddit has drawn attention to five cast members with MCU connections.

From a space ranger to Crossbones

Stallone’s Marvel appearance came in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. He played Stakar Ogord, a veteran space ranger whose imposing presence makes for a sharp contrast with Dwight’s old-school mobster persona. The roles ask Stallone to inhabit very different kinds of authority: one belongs to a cosmic adventure, the other to a crime drama grounded in a new city and its local ties.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 also gives the cast overlap an extra connection to Gunn, who directed the film and later brought Grillo into the DC Universe as Rick Flag Sr. In Tulsa King, Grillo joined in season three as Bill Bevilaqua. MCU viewers may know him best as Brock Rumlow, the character also known as Crossbones, whom he played from 2014 to 2023. That range makes Grillo’s Bill a particularly interesting entry point for viewers who recognize him from superhero films.

Welcome to motherf*cking Frisco. December 18th, on #ParamountPlus. #FriscoKing https://t.co/3P7UJyNjfq

— Paramount+ (@paramountplus) October 15, 2026

Familiar faces across Marvel stories

Martin Starr plays Lawrence “Bodhi” Geigerman, a dispensary owner who becomes part of Dwight’s circle. In the MCU, Starr is Roger Harrington, appearing in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: No Way Home. It’s a smaller role than some of the characters on this list, but a recognizable one for viewers who have followed the Spider-Man films.

Neal McDonough’s Marvel history reaches back to Captain America: The First Avenger, where he played Dum Dum Dugan. A member of Nick Fury’s Howling Commandos, Dugan is known for his marksmanship and bowler hat. In Tulsa King, McDonough takes on Cal Thresher, adding another screen presence with a very different kind of past to Dwight’s world.

Jackson may be the most widely recognized Marvel name in the group. Known for playing Nick Fury, he joined Tulsa King in its third season as Russell Lee Washington Jr. His character faces off with Stallone’s Dwight and is set to lead a spinoff. The franchise’s next branch is titled Frisco King, with Jackson starring.

There’s a small, pleasing piece of Marvel history in the pairing of Jackson and McDonough. McDonough once said he hoped to make a Nick Fury movie alongside Jackson. In the comics, Dugan is Fury’s right-hand man, and McDonough even pictured the story as a 1970s-set film. That project didn’t materialize, but the actors now share a series in which their characters come from very different corners of the story world.

Sylvester Stallone is back for #TulsaKing: Season 4 – premiering October 16 on Paramount+. https://t.co/4zJm8SxPdL

— Rotten Tomatoes (@RottenTomatoes) October 3, 2026

More Marvel connections, and a growing series

Annabella Sciorra earns an honorable mention. She plays Joanne, Dwight’s sister, and previously had a recurring role as gangster Rosalie Carbone in Netflix’s Marvel series Luke Cage and Daredevil. Her inclusion broadens the connection beyond the five performers highlighted in the fan discussion.

Season four gives Dwight a fresh set of pressures: he’s trying to legitimize his empire and protect his crew while new enemies and a personal loss threaten his plans. Gretchen Mol joins the main cast as Amanda Clark, a Tulsa politician taking a stand against organized crime. The changing stakes give the show’s ensemble more to work with, including actors whose earlier roles may shape how viewers read their characters.

Terence Winter has returned as head writer and executive producer after Dave Erickson’s departure as season three showrunner. Alongside the fifth-season renewal, the planned Frisco King spinoff signals that the franchise is continuing to expand around its existing cast. New episodes of Tulsa King arrive every Friday on Paramount+, and the first three seasons are available to stream.

For superhero fans, the cast’s appeal lies in the different paths these actors have taken between franchises: Stallone’s space ranger, Grillo’s Crossbones, Starr’s teacher, McDonough’s commando and Jackson’s legendary spy all sit behind their Tulsa King roles. With new episodes and a Jackson-led spinoff ahead, those connections give viewers another reason to follow the ensemble as the story grows.