Last week, a theatrical version of Coolie trailer revealed an unseen footage from the movie where a younger version of 'Deva' Rajinikanth could be seen wielding a 'Kokki' (hook) as a weapon, and threatening a group of people. A dead man could be seen lying next to the right of this younger Rajinikanth version, while Upendra as 'Kaleesha' could be spotted standing to his left. 

Both Upendra's and Rajinikanth's outfits matched to the blue porter uniforms from Thee (1981). This footage has now been revealed in the latest promo cut of Coolie, sending fans into theorizing again that actor Sivakarthikeyan is making a cameo as the younger Rajinikanth. 

Takeover Ottumothamey from tomorrow!🔥 #Coolie#Coolie releasing worldwide August 14th@rajinikanth @Dir_Lokesh @anirudhofficial #AamirKhan @iamnagarjuna @nimmaupendra #SathyaRaj #SoubinShahir @shrutihaasan @hegdepooja @Reba_Monica @monishablessyb @anbariv @girishganges… pic.twitter.com/6YnevucD9o

— Sun Pictures (@sunpictures) August 13, 2025

It is worth mentioning here that a similar theory was floated around Jailer (2023)'s shooting when de-aging was used in Rajinikanth's flashback portions. While never officially confirmed, it has been said that Sun Pictures employed the services of Sivakarthikeyan as a stand-in for Rajinikanth to apply the de-aging technique. 

Looks like siva

— M Cine Reviews (MCR) 📽️ (@smsmani9011) August 13, 2025

It remains to be seen if the production house repeated the same Rajinikanth-Sivakarthikeyan swap for Coolie, and even if they did, will it be officially revealed.  Coolie written and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj releases on August 14, 2025 in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi languages.