There are quite a few Marvel movies on the slate between now and the big throwdown in Avengers: Infinity War, but the pieces are starting to come together for the big team-up movie. You can now add another existing MCU character to the long list of those that will be appearing. Karen Gillan has recently revealed that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 won't be the last place we see Nebula, as she's already signed on to appear in Infinity War.
I'll be making a little appearance in the next Avengers movies.
It's not too surprising that we might see Nebula in Avengers: Infinity War. She is the daughter of Thanos of course, and Thanos will have a huge role in the movie, finally taking center stage as the primary antagonist of the MCU. Karen Gillan tells the BBC that she'll be making a "little appearance" which could mean that her role won't be very large, though she could also be playing coy. It's also possible that she doesn't even know how big the part actually is right now.
There's another reason that hearing that Nebula will appear in Avengers: Infinity War isn't too much of a shock. Nebula also appears in the Infinity Gauntlet comic book series that the film is being based upon. Nebula's role there isn't particularly large, but it is quite important to the story. Of course, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has never felt beholden to the comics when it comes to making their movies, so the fact that Nebula was in the book was never a guarantee that she'd be in the film. Having said that, now knowing that she will be in the film has us wondering if her character could be one thing that does borrow from the comics.
While Nebula was a significant villain when she was introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy, Karen Gillan has said that the audience may gain more sympathy for her after watching Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The actress has said that we'll be getting more of the history of Nebula and her relationship with her father Thanos. Clearly, the two are somewhat dysfunctional. Whether this means that Nebula will be less of a bad guy in the new movie, or will become so throughout the story, is unclear. It does sound like we'll be getting to know Nebula much better over the course of the new Guardians which may very well play into whatever role she will have in Avengers: Infinity War.
While not everything is confirmed, the expectation is that most, if not all of the key Guardians of the Galaxy characters will be showing up in one or both of the next two Avengers films. This will be the big blow-off event that the entire MCU has been building to and everybody wants to come to the party.
