I don’t know if Stakar was intended to come across as Yondu’s Space Dad, but Stakar’s “we’re not mad at you, we’re disappointed” moment cast him in that light for me. Especially since he was so ready to answer Rocket’s call at the end– like for all Stakar’s bluster about “you’re never ever ever gonna be a Ravager again,” he was really just waiting for Yondu to give him a reason to take that edict back. And he was super proud when Yondu did, even if the circumstances were tragic.
I mean yeah, all of that plays into the whole “the Ravagers demonstrate to Rocket that true family still loves you even if you’re a little shit sometimes,” thing, but I also like it as a standalone, “bonus” father/son arc in the movie.
Oh, I absolutely think it was intentional. Every single subplot and character relationship in the movie ties back to the central family theme in one way or another (even the Sovereign, with their baby-making machines and complete lack of family connections with each other). And I absolutely think Stakar and Yondu’s relationship is meant to echo Yondu and Peter’s in a bunch of different ways; the entire arc of their relationship is in many ways an echo of the arc of Peter and Yondu’s.
all this, but can I also say, it amuses me no end that Sylvester Stallone is basically Peter’s spacegrandad considering he’s another 80s icon