What’s next for Nebula in an MCU without Thanos?

Karen Gillan opens up about Nebula’s future in the MCU now that Thanos is no longer around.

Karen Gillan has played Nebula in the MCU since the first Guardians of the Galaxy back in 2014. Since then, her character has drastically evolved. Nebula has learned to love her sister, her teammates, and herself. The latter of the two may have taken longer than the first two. Having a father like Thanos will do that do that you.

The Mad Titan abused her. Nebula was taken apart and rebuilt so many times, she may not even remember what she used to look like before her “upgrades.” Now that Thanos is out of her life, she will undoubtedly continue to evolve and grow as a character. In fact, Karen Gillan thinks so as well.

During a virtual panel at GalaxyCon Live (via The Illuminerdi), Gillan commented on the character’s future, stating:

"“I’m sort of thinking about future Nebula in the sense like, ‘What is she going to be like now that that person’s abuse has gone out of her life? How is she going to build herself back up again?’ Because it’s an odd feeling, I think, for someone who’s been abused by a parent, because they still love them and they’re sad that they’re gone, but also they hate them and they’re glad that they’re gone…I’m interested to maybe try and take her to a place now where she’s starting to rebuild her life."

Gillan’s comments make a lot of sense. Sometimes, it’s difficult to just stop loving someone, no matter how horrible they were. And it’s pretty clear that this was how she felt about Thanos and his so-called “tough love” approach. It’s not something easily dismissed.

Look at what happened during Avengers: Endgame. Nebula from the past had a chance to get away from Thanos but couldn’t break the cycle. In a weird sort of way, Nebula shooting her past self had to have been therapeutic. Killing the part of herself that no longer existed meant that she could finally move on. With all that said, what’s next for Nebula?

What’s next for Nebula in the MCU?

Well, we know that Nebula is officially a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. We’ve seen that she can be a team player as well. One thing she’s going to add to the projects is her awkward nature. There have been a lot of times where she doesn’t get social cues or even just how to relax.

Her unfortunate time stranded with Tony Stark may have helped her more than we know – it definitely helped her become a kinder person. Let’s also not forget that she’s still dealing with the death of her sister Gamora as well. Just as they were coming together, she lost her.

Also, seeing her learn how to let her guard down will undoubtedly be an experience. Sometimes it’ll probably be funny; other times it’ll be sad. Things are going to happen that will frustrate her and it will be an emotional ride. Thankfully, Karen Gillan has already proven she’s more than capable of pulling it off.

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There’s also the possibility that she won’t be with the Guardians of the Galaxy for too long. After all, Nebula’s time with the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers projects have shown that she has the potential to be more than just a supporting character.

She would undoubtedly be a great protagonist for a Disney Plus series, one that explores her life during her time with Thanos, after his death, and her journey towards becoming her own person. It would also bridge the gap between previous Marvel Cinematic Universe projects. With literal galaxies worth of characters to explore, a Nebula project could help introduce future MCU heroes and villains.

It would be great to see Karen Gillan play Nebula for a long time. She seems to have invested a lot of emotion into the character. That same emotion means that she cares about how Nebula is portrayed – and so do we. And it’s not often that a character evolves this much in a short amount of time. It’s certain that the more we get of Nebula, the better.

It’ll be exciting to see what the next chapter of her life looks like… whichever screen it takes place on.

What do you think? Do we need more Nebula in the MCU? What do you think her post-Thanos chapter will look like? Let us know in the comments below.