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delicate alien woman make-up. But
they love heavy-metal so I’ve come
to think it also suits Nebula very
well,” says the actress who is rarely
recognised as Nebula given that
she looks so different off-screen.
While Infinity War sees the
joining together of all the super-
powers to take down Thanos
- over the course of two epic
movies - then given that Nebula
is his daughter, it's personal for
Gillan. “She suffered years of
abuse growing up with him so she
harbours a lot of resentment and
emotional anger toward him.”
If the Marvel world is a geek’s
paradise, Gillan reckons there is
no bigger geek than she: “I’ve
just ordered from Amazon all the
merchandise of me that exists - all
of it! From Dr Who to Guardians
and everything else.”
Now that she has exchanged
her native Inverness for
a Hollywood home
and new office, she
plans to furnish
her workplace
with shelves of
memorabilia. “I
can’t wait for it all to
arrive. I hope there‘s
enough room.”
What’s
next in
the MCU
Thor: Ragnarok
Chris Hemsworth is back and
mighty as ever in Thor: Ragnarok,
hitting Australian cinemas October
26. Expect to find out what Thor
and the Hulk were doing while they
missed Civil War.
Black Panther
Chadwick Boseman is back for his
own film, Black Panther. Now with
the responsibility both of saviour
and King, he must juggle his duties
and face a new enemy in Wakanda.
Avengers:
Infinity War
This is the big one. The events of
the MCU so far have been leading
up to this battle – between Thanos,
the one chasing the Infinity Stones,
and the Avengers – who have now
joined forces with The Guardians of
the Galaxy.
Ant-Man and
the Wasp
Paul Rudd and Evangeline
Lily are back to join Michael
Douglas for the follow up to
2015’s Ant-Man. Hope will
take on her mother’s former
role as The Wasp – with
a sick new costume
to boot.
“It’s a wee bit chilly in here,”
shivers Karen Gillan in that
lyrical Scottish accent we
rarely get to hear now that she is a
fully-fledged member of the Marvel
universe, reprising her Guardians of
The Galaxy role of Nebula in next
year’s hotly-anticipated Avengers:
Infinity War.
The new film will unite all
Marvel’s characters to fight one
common enemy in the shape of
Josh Brolin’s badass Thanos; Gillan
jetting in today to meet STACK
at Disney’s D23 Expo, and first
entering our consciousness nine
years ago as Dr Who’s assistant.
She's currently intent on keeping
warm despite the ferocious air-
conditioning back-stage at D23 in
Anaheim, California.
Guardians of the Galaxy fans
all have their favourite characters,
but the GOTG relationship which
most fascinates the movies’ two-
time director James Gunn is the
bad blood between space sisters,
Zoe Saldana’s Gamora and Gillan’s
Nebula, often teasing the idea
of a spin-off just for the sisters.
“Zoe and I are so invested in our
characters - we really know who
these girls are. We can look at
each other and both start crying in
a scene because we’re both so in
it. My idea for it is that we go on a
space road trip together and they’re
bickering all the way, even arguing
while we have to kill a big space
monster,” suggests Gillan, 29.
Throughout her adventures as
Nebula, she wrestles with the
dynamic of sisterhood, given that
she is an only child. “It's hard for
me to know what it's like to be the
least favourite child. I got so much
attention as a child and stacks of
Christmas presents every year. But
I think a lot of people can relate to
feeling overlooked or inferior in life.
I’ve definitely felt those things as I
think every human has.”
If she longs for a Nebula
spin-off, then her prosthetic and
make-up process is one of the
more complex within the Marvel
universe, often feeling envious
of her co-star Pom Klementieff
[Mantis] with whom she shares a
make-up trailer. “Pom’s make-up
only takes two hours so she would
always arrive later than me and
leave before I left. It takes four
hours to turn me into Nebula - all
the time listening to heavy-metal.
“The guys who do my make-up
are these bad-ass heavily-tattooed
men and yet do this beautiful
038 AUGUST 2017
visit DVD&BD FEATURE
Guardians of the Galaxy's Karen Gillan catches up with STACK
backstage at D23 Expo to talk Guardians of the GalaxyVol. 2. Words Gill Pringle
SISTER ACT
Zoe and I are so invested in our characters -
we really knowwho these girls are
• Guardians
of the Galaxy
Vol. 2
is out Aug 28
Head to for the full interview
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