Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been a long time coming. The infamous film, which will conclude the Guardians trilogy (although more content featuring the team, perhaps with a new look, seems likely) that started all the way back in 2014 with James Gunn’s Marvel Cinematic Universe debut. Since then, Vol. 2 has debuted, the same year as Spider-Man: Homecoming and Thor: Ragnarok, as well the characters appearing in both Avengers: Infinity War and its follow up Avengers Endgame.
Everything seemed to be going as planned until James Gunn was removed from the film, and at that point the writer/director switched hats and moved over to DC to do The Suicide Squad and the Peacemaker tv series for HBO Max. Gunn has since been reinstated to finish his Marvel Guardians trilogy, and recently completed principal photography on this third outing. The main cast is all returning, but there are also some other interesting new faces that are set to arrive. One of these is Will Poulter, who will be playing Adam Warlock, a famous and beloved character from the comics. Many have speculated for quite some time that Warlock would appear in a Guardians film, and Vol. 3 looks set to be that. Another newcomer is Maria Bakalova, the Bulgarian actress that played Borat’s daughter in the follow up to the class comedy. Bakalova has become a star name of sorts in the time since that film, appearing in The Bubble on Netflix and even getting nominated for an Academy Award. As such, anticipation is high for the actress’ MCU debut. Here are 5 characters that Bakalova could play in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Phylla Vell
Vell has quite the illustrious and intricate back story in the Marvel comics, so Bakalova playing this character is unlikely but not exactly impossible. Vell is the daughter of Captain Mar-Vell, hence the same name, and teamed up with Peter Quill during some of his earlier days as a Guardian, becoming his second in command of sorts.
Nikki
Nikki made Marvel comics history by becoming the first woman to join the Guardians team, meaning that her inclusion in the MCU would be a callback to that historic moment for diversity. Of course, since then, the team has been made up of countless different individuals, many of which have been women or assigned female at birth. A team such as this is a great way to show a diverse group of individuals, which is something that (to a certain extent) the two Guardians films have done so far, and this could continue with the inclusion of Nikki.
In the comics, Nikki the Mercurian is a member of the future Guardians, but some of the members of that team have already appeared in the MCU, so it’s not out of the realm of possibly that she comes in here. Often equipped with a giant purple blaster and fire hair, Nikki would certainly be an interesting character for Bakalova to play.
Nova
This is another slightly out the box choice as Nova has been almost exclusively male in the comics, with Richard Rider and Sam Alexander the two main names to take up the mantle. The Nova Corps has been a large part of the Guardians trilogy thus far, particularly the first outing in 2014 (where Check it Out! With Dr. Steve Brule star John C. Reilly played a quirky space agent), so it’s always felt like a matter of time before Nova comes into play in the flesh. As an extremely popular comic book figure amongst readers of the source material, Nova is sure to get a rousing reception when he does arrive.
Or perhaps it’s when she arrives, as Bakalova taking on the role would mean a gender change for Nova. This is something that has happened before in comic book adaptations with the DC shows on the CW channel particularly known to promote diversity and inclusion by choosing the right actor for a given role regardless of gender or race. Bakalova playing Nova would be a milestone moment for the MCU.
Moondragon
Perhaps a more likely character for the actress to play, Moondragon has some established connections to MCU characters, including two who have appeared in the Guardians films so far. One is Thanos, whose father she was taken in by after a near fatal car accident. She was at one point in the body of Drax the Destoyer, which would be an interesting concept to explore in a future project. Bakalova certainly looks the part for the character, meaning this is a possible role for the actress.
Angela
Angela is another more likely choice and one that would see another direct link between the Guardians and the gods on Asgard. In the comics, Angela joined the Guardians of the Galaxy during Ultron’s attack on Earth and remained with the team for some time, but was later revealed to be the daughter of Odin (not unlike Hela in Thor: Ragnarok). This caused friction between her and the rest of the team, causing her to break away.
While it seems far-fetched to assume that a secret Odin daughter plot would be repeated once again, Angela could still be brought into the MCU and played by Bakalova. After all, one of the strengths of the MCU is the way in which it often loosely adapts the comics, something that works more often than not in that it allows for more creative leeway for its filmmakers.