What Role Could Karen Gillan's Nebula Play In 'Avengers: Infinity War'?

A casting call for Avengers: Infinity War has revealed a massive number of cast members, ranging from Chris Pratt's Star-Lord to Chris Hemsworth's Thor. While most of the names are pretty much as expected, there is one exception - Karen Gillan's Nebula!

Nebula is Joining the Guardians of the Galaxy

Although Karen Gillan's Nebula played a villain Guardians of the Galaxy, we've long known she's going to play a very different role in #GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2. The above concept art had revealed that Nebula would be joining the team! In an interview with Comic Book Resources, Gillan discussed the angle she's most looking forward to:

"I think what I'm really excited about it delving into the sisterly relationship between Gamora and Nebula. I think that we're going to see a little bit more of that, and it's going to be a bit more fleshed out."

We now know - courtesy of the casting call - that the main Guardians roster will make an appearance in Avengers: Infinity War, so it shouldn't really be a surprise to see Nebula on the list.

What Role Could Nebula Play?

As I've discussed in an earlier post, most fans believe that Infinity War will be largely inspired by Jim Starlin's classic Infinity Gauntlet miniseries. This miniseries featured Thanos successfully gaining the combined power of the Infinity Gems, and going so far as to destroy half of all life in the universe! Before the arc was over, the Earth was knocked off its axis, cosmic beings had been destroyed, and Earth's Mightiest Heroes were defeated.

Then came Nebula. In a fascinating twist, the mentally disturbed woman managed to get her hands on the Infinity Gauntlet. She gained the infinite power of the Infinity Gems, and used it to wreak terrible vengeance upon Thanos. Infinity Gauntlet stressed just how mentally disturbed Nebula really was, setting her up as cruel and capricious; in order to deny Thanos his victory, she literally used the Gauntlet to turn back time, undoing everything that Thanos had done.

Ironically enough, this act was Nebula's undoing; it restored the cosmic beings Thanos had destroyed, and left Nebula vulnerable to Adam Warlock's masterplan. Acting from inside the Soul Realm, Warlock was able to manipulate matters to his advantage, and took the Infinity Gauntlet from her. The arc ended with Warlock leaving, keeping the Infinity Gauntlet and the assembled might of the Infinity Stones, and setting up future arcs.

Now, I'm not necessarily expecting Infinity War to perfectly follow this arc - the #MCU version of Nebula is subtly different to the comic book version, after all. But I wouldn't be surprised if Nebula were to play a key role; her relationship with Thanos may position her to be his undoing. What's more, just because she becomes a member of the Guardians doesn't mean that she'll remain a hero.

This casting call has revealed an absolute wealth of information, and fans will be poring over it in excitement. The exciting reveal that Nebula will indeed be heading from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 straight into #Marvel's epic Infinity War is one that raises some tremendous possibilities!

(Source: Comic Book Resources)