Karen Gillan on How Avengers: Endgame Changed Nebula Going Into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Karen Gillan on How Avengers: Endgame Changed Nebula Going Into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Now that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has dusted Thanos himself, everyone wants to know what’s next. Who is the next big bad? Where is it all going? Those answers are certainly coming but if Thanos was your in-universe Dad, the fallout is coming sooner rather than later.

From the very first moments audiences met Nebula, played by Karen Gillan, and Gamora, played by Zoe Saldana, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was all about Thanos. Serving Thanos, killing Thanos, breaking away from Thanos. And now that he’s dead, Gillan tells Gizmodo it opens her character up in some very interesting ways.

“One of the most interesting things about Nebula for me was her relationship with her father and sister,” Gillan told Gizmodo while discussing her new movie, Dual, in theatres this weekend. “And now that her father, Thanos, has been eliminated, he was the source of all of her torment and abuse. It’s really interesting to explore how this character starts to heal and who this character starts to become now that the threat that was always looming over her is gone. So I’ve been having a lot of fun with that.”

Gillan’s likely referring to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which writer-director James Gunn is currently filming. (The character is also likely to appear in this year’s Thor: Love and Thunder.) She’s not allowed to say anything specific about the film, so we instead asked what she could tease about how everything is going.

“What can I tell you without telling you?” Gillan laughed. “I mean, she’s definitely going to become a slightly different person as the events unfold after all those events in Endgame. So we’re definitely going to see a new version of the character. Maybe a looser version of the character? Maybe a little more levity? But we’ll see because I haven’t actually seen the movie yet.”

The implication there is she’s probably filmed more funny stuff as Nebula — but until the film is finished and edited, she can’t be sure exactly what makes it in and what doesn’t. She did, however, add a bit more about the overall implications of the film on the MCU. “This is going to be an amazing adventure for the Guardians,” Gillan said. “And also, maybe we might be closing out a final chapter for the Guardians as we know it.”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 opens May 23, 2023. Dual, in which Gillan plays two versions of the same person who want to kill each other, very much like Avengers: Endgame, opens in theatres this week. We’ll have more on that Wednesday.