Karen Gillan says Guardians 3 let her explore "more compassionate" Nebula
It's the first time in the trilogy that the character has been a fully-fledged member of the Guardians.
There's not long to go until the Guardians of the Galaxy return for the third and final instalment of James Gunn's popular MCU trilogy – and star Karen Gillan has teased that we'll be seeing a very different side to her character Nebula.
The film is the first entry in the trilogy in which Nebula has been a fully-fledged member of the Guardians – with the character having initially been introduced as an antagonist back in the first film – and Gillan explained to RadioTimes.com that she enjoyed getting to play a lighter version of her.
"With each movie, I feel like I've been lucky enough to have the character really evolving," she said during an exclusive interview.
"She started off as this kind of bitter, twisted, tormented character. And she's gradually kind of becoming more compassionate and empathetic, and all of the things that she didn't really have before.
"And then in this movie, we're meeting her post the death of her father Thanos, who is the source of all her trauma. So she's starting to develop the personality that maybe she was meant to have.
"It's a little bit lighter, more humorous, I got to improvise more and be a bit silly, but within the parameters of Nebula."
As in the previous films, Nebula's relationship with her sister Gamora plays a vital role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 – and Gillan notes that it feels like the two characters have now "sort of swapped places."
"Gamora was always the more evolved, more compassionate one of the two of them," she said. "But now we've got this different version of Gamora who's more like old Nebula, actually. So that's an interesting dynamic to play around with.
"And yeah, Nebula stepping into this position of a bit more of a caretaker role for people, which is actually lovely, because I think a huge part of the healing process is helping other people to heal. So it just shows you how far Nebula has come."
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Meanwhile, Gillan's co-star Pom Klementieff explained how things are different for her character Mantis following her revelation to Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) in the recent Holiday Special that they are half-siblings.
"It creates a stronger bond between both of the characters," she said. "And also Mantis, with everything that she's been through with Ego, she was craving a family. So that's what she finds with the Guardians of the Galaxy and with her friendship with Drax and being a sister to Peter Quill."
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 is released on Friday 5th May 2023, while other instalments in the franchise are available to stream on Disney Plus. Sign up to Disney Plus now for £7.99 per month or £79.90 for a full year.
Check out our list of the best movies on Disney Plus and best shows on Disney Plus, or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.
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Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
