In James Gunn's 2014 surprise blockbuster, The Guardians of the Galaxy, his brother Sean Gunn had two jobs to perform. He served as the stand-in for Rocket Raccoon, a member of the titular extraterrestrial anti-hero team, who is voiced by Bradley Cooper. His second role was to portray Kraglin, the first mate of Michael Rooker's Yondu in the Ravagers.
The director revealed during a recent live Periscope video on Twitter (via Comic Book) that Sean is taking on both tasks in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but his roles are far more extensive than they were in the original movie. When a fan asked whether Sean would appear in the upcoming sequel, James not only confirmed that his brother is shouldering the same responsibilities as he did in Guardians of the Galaxy, but he also added:
Kraglin has a very much expanded role. Kraglin is quite a serious big role in the movie.
While Kraglin was more of an extra in the first movie, with just a couple of lines, a bigger role for him in the May 5, 2017 release makes sense, considering what Sean Gunn shared in an interview last month. The first teaser trailer and poster for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 made it clear that Yondu has once again joined forces with Chris Pratt's Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, and his team, despite the betrayal with the Infinity Stone toward the end of the original movie.
Sean said that there is "a little rumbling" among the Ravagers about Yondu's allegiance, and Kraglin is "a key part" of any decision they might make about their leader. So James Gunn's recent statement falls in line with that.