Though his eyes have been set on Zoe Saldaña’s Gamora, Karen Gillan reveals her own ideas for a Marvel Cinematic Universe rom-com for Nebula and Star-Lord after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Gillan returns as Thanos’ adoptive daughter-turned-Guardians member as she and her team find themselves pitted against both Adam Warlock, created by the Sovereign to exact revenge on them, and the High Evolutionary, a key figure in Rocket’s tragic origin story. James Gunn once again wrote and directed the film, which acts as an emotional conclusion to the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy.
Ahead of the trilogy capper’s release, Screen Rant exclusively interviewed Karen Gillan and Pom Klementieff for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. When asked about the idea of Star-Lord and Nebula getting together after the trailer’s tease of the two having a romantic moment, Gillan shared her own pitch for an MCU rom-com centered on the cosmic duo, with Klementieff even chiming in with her hopes of how to appear in the film. See Gillan and Klementieff’s humorous idea in the quotes and video below:
Karen Gillan: I actually could really see a His Girl Friday [for them]. Quippy back-and-forth, witty banter, and bickering.Pom Klementieff: Are you pitching a rom-com? That’d be so fun. Can I be in it too?Karen Gillan: Sure, yeah, come on in. Pom Klementieff: Will you be mean to me again?Karen Gillan: Not the rom-com. New rules!Pom Klementieff: I would love for Mantis to wear a beanie. In rom-coms, it’s always Winter time or Fall. And will you have a cute outfit for Nebula?Karen Gillan: Maybe Nebula gets her arm stuck in a little grate on the floor or something, and then Star-Lord has to get right, and then they have a meet-cute. [She has on], like, a little cocktail dress. But with the arm out.
Why The MCU Should Should Try A Rom-Com
Since the franchise’s launch with the Robert Downey Jr.-led Iron Man, the MCU has frequently featured romantic dynamics for their various heroes, whether it be Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts, Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster or Evangeline Lilly’s Hope van Dyne, among others. While many of these were introduced simply as love interests, the majority have since evolved into strong characters with their own agency, namely Jane becoming the Mighty Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder and Hope becoming the new Wasp for both Ant-Man and the Wasp and its sequel, Quantumania.
However, even with this evolution past general love interest tropes, the MCU would actually benefit from exploring the rom-com genre with one or more of its characters in the future. Disney+’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law loosely explored the genre, with Tatiana Maslany’s titular hero attempting to find love for much of the season while Benedict Wong’s Wong found his own unique pairing in party girl Madisynn, though it’s unclear if the latter was romantic or plantonic like Shang-Chi and Katy.
As projects like The Boys and even the MCU’s own Werewolf by Night have shown, the superhero genre doesn’t have to be beholden to large-scale action and world-building, but instead capitalize on its unique sets of characters and universes to explore other subgenres. While the Star-Lord and Nebula moment may be nothing more than a throwaway gag in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Gillan’s pitch of a rom-com movie for the two goes to show just how far the MCU should try its hand in delivering fresh and fun stories to audiences.
