What makes Yondu arguably the deadliest character in both Guardians of the Galaxy films is his whistle. That might sound ridiculous if you’ve never seen either film, but with a very special mouth movement, Yondu creates a melody that would make Roger Whittaker jealous. If you don’t know who Roger Whittaker is, all you need to know is that he’s famous for his whistling.
But the thing about Yondu’s whistle that makes it deadly is that it activates his fearsome weapon – the Yaka Arrow. With one distinct tune, he directs his arrow to do his bidding, taking out his enemies one by one, quick as a flash.
It’s not as easy as it might look, however – Ravager cohort Kraglin attempts it in Guardians of the Galaxy 2 but can’t quite get it, and ends up sending the arrow careering into Drax’s head.
We sat down with Michael Rooker, who plays Yondu Udonta in both films, for a tutorial on how to master the Yondu whistle, which you can watch in the video above.
Pucker Up
“First off, you’ve got to lick your lips,” he says. “And then you’ve got to loosen your lips a little bit.”
It seems that moisture and loose lips are the key to nailing it.
“Pucker a little bit like this,” he demonstrates. “And then you just blow a little stream of air through there, and you’ve got to curl your tongue just so slightly inside behind your teeth. Are you ready? Try it.”
We tried but weren’t very good. See how you get on.
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ is out now in the UK and hits US screens on May 5.