When the first trailer for next year's Avengers: Infinity War debuted at the end of November, it delivered pretty much everything that fans expected to see from this Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster (and more). That said, there was one glaring omission: Karen Gillan's Nebula -- who struck off on her own at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in her quest to take down Thanos (Josh Brolin). Many fans wondered why Nebula didn't appear, but Gillan recently opened up and admitted that she wasn't disappointed because there seems to be a plan in place for Nebula later in Infinity War's marketing campaign. The actress addressed her absence and said:
I wasn't really disappointed because also it sort of makes sense... it makes sense! How do I say this without giving anything away? It makes sense - I feel like Nebula might be future trailers.
Given the fact that Karen Gillan obviously knows more about the storyline of Avengers: Infinity War than we do, we're going to have to take her at her word. There seems to be a reason why the bionic sister of Gamora (Zoey Saldana) didn't appear in the first Infinity War trailer, and it "makes sense" in the grand scheme of the movie's narrative. She can't guarantee anything, but it looks like the odds of Nebula showing up in a future trailer to help flesh out the cosmic side of the story seem pretty good.
Nebula clearly has some deep connections to the events in Avengers: Infinity War, which makes sense when we consider her link to the film's big bad. Karen Gillan continued her conversation with RadioTimes and explained how her deep-seated issues with Thanos would come to a head when the movie debuts. Gillan specifically said:
A lot of stuff that we have planted in previous films is going to all come together in quite an explosive way, I would say. Daddy issues will be faced. Thanos is the big bad guy, the ultimate supervillain, so this is the biggest fight that the Avengers will ever have. And being his daughter, Nebula will get entwined in there somehow.
Despite not holding membership on The Avengers team or the Guardians of the Galaxy team, Nebula could arguably become one of the most important personalities in the entire MCU. Her profound anger at Thanos (primarily due to her abusive upbringing) gives her one of the most personal connections to the plot of the film, so it seems safe to assume that she's got issues to work through with him in the next space-based Marvel epic.
Nebula's "daddy issues" will return to the forefront of the Marvel Cinematic Universe next year when Avengers: Infinity War premieres on May 4, 2018. Until the upcoming major Avengers team-up rolls around, you can catch Karen Gillan in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which opens in theaters December 20.
