Back in 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy was deemed the riskiest move yet to be made within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That risk turned out to be one of the biggest surprises of the year and one of Marvel’s best received films yet. Unsurprisingly, anticipation levels remain high for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which will feature an expanded roster of team members. Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Groot (Vin Diesel), and Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) will all return as the Guardians, but some new and familiar faces will join them as well.
Mantis (Pom Klementieff) is the lone new face to join the team, while sometimes-adversary Yondu (Michael Rooker) and villain Nebula (Karen Gillan) will change sides to help out the ragtag group. For her part, Nebula had a complicated role in the first movie and will now be given a bigger part in the sequel, as one of the many great female characters. But if director James Gunn had it his way, he would like to see Nebula lead her own movie.
Gunn is active on Twitter, and he responded when one fan recently expressed a desire to see Nebula get her own movie. In his response, Gunn agreed that a Nebula solo film, or one in which she is the lead, would be great. In fact, he has been thinking the same since the beginning of this whole process.
I have a few favorites myself, but I agree that Nebula should lead her own film – it’s something I’ve thought about from the beginning. https://t.co/lyPAA6Hyxw— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) October 16, 2016
Nebula taking on a lead role would be interesting, but seems unlikely at this point. Then again, she could have a major role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, leaving her in position to be a major character moving forward, such as in Guardians of the Galaxy 3. While the Guardians are confirmed to appear in one or both of the upcoming Avengers movies, it is unclear if Nebula will be included in that.
Fans should get a better indication of Nebula’s future in the MCU once the film has been released. There have currently not been any public comments pointing to Nebula getting her own movie, or taking more of a leading role in any upcoming Marvel film. Given the backlog of more prominent female Marvel characters who have yet to be given their own starring vehicle, it seems likely that Nebula will have to wait awhile longer to get her turn.
Doctor Strange opens November 4, 2016; Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – May 5, 2017; Spider-Man: Homecoming – July 7, 2017; Thor: Ragnarok – November 3, 2017; Black Panther – February 16, 2018; Avengers: Infinity – May 4, 2018; Ant-Man and the Wasp – July 6, 2018; Captain Marvel– March 8, 2019; Untitled Avengers – May 3, 2019; and as-yet-untitled Marvel movies on July 12, 2019, and on May 1, July 10, and November 6 in 2020.
