Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) was just released and featured a very different set of Guardians than fans were first introduced to. They’ve come so far from the ragtag group they once were and have grown into entirely different people.
One character fans wouldn’t have expected to join the crew is Nebula, Gamora’s sister. In the first film, she was a pawn for Thanos, intent on killing Gamora and the Guardians. She changes sides during Avengers: Endgame (2019) and essentially joins the Guardians. She’s a featured member in Vol. 3, going so far as to have some flirtation and joking between her and Quill. The character has made actress Karen Gillan a household name and cemented Nebula as a fan-favorite underdog.
Gillan is most known for her roles as Amy Pond in the BBC series Doctor Who and Ruby in the Jumanji remakes, as well as Marvel’s Nebula. She’s a Scottish actress, but her accent doesn’t come through in the Guardians films. In a clip posted to TikTok from an interview for the third film, she revealed that director James Gunn gave her a piece of advice that stuck with her and made Nebula the character that she is.
“On my first day of filming, I came in, I was doing my generic villain thing,” Gillan states, “and then he [Gunn] was like ‘let’s mix this up!’” He asked her to speak like “Marilyn Monroe slash Clint Eastwood.” Gillan credits that piece of direction for creating the entire character of Nebula, including her voice and the way she moved, stating she “started slinking around more,” and says it’s the best piece of direction she’s ever heard.
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She took her Scottish accent and turned it into a rolling drawl, made her walk more fluid, and as one comment states, “it explains the What If…? variant of her character, too.” In the episode of What If…? Nebula has platinum blonde hair, styled with vintage glamour waves, very much giving Marilyn Monroe. If it hadn’t been for that piece of advice from Gunn, fans may have gotten a very different Nebula.
What do you think of Gillan’s performance as Nebula? Tell Inside the Magic your thoughts in the comments below!