James Gunn says Mantis and Nebula have "pretty huge" roles in Guardians of the Galaxy 3

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
(Image credit: Disney/Marvel)

Guardians of the Galaxy 3 director James Gunn has hinted that Mantis and Nebula will have big parts to play in the Marvel movie.

Responding to a tweet that said Mantis actor Pom Klementieff and Nebula actor Karen Gillan were moved to tears by the third movie's script, Gunn said: "I hope it's not because they thought they had too few lines because honestly their roles are both pretty huge and it seems greedy."

So far in the MCU Mantis has been more on the sidelines, so this is welcome news. Nebula had a bigger role in Guardians of the Galaxy 2, and was a major part of Avengers: Endgame.  

Not much is known about Guardians of the Galaxy 3 yet, besides the fact that it will most likely be Gunn's last entry in the series. The film isn't due out until 2023, but the Guardians will be popping up in Thor: Love and Thunder, slated for release in 2022, so there isn't too long to wait to see at least some of the team again.

"[Guardians of the Galaxy 3] will conclude the story of this iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and help catapult both old and new Marvel characters into the next ten years and beyond," Gunn wrote on Facebook earlier this year. "I will be working side-by-side with Kevin Feige and the gang to help design where these stories go, and make sure the future of the Marvel Cosmic Universe is as special and authentic and magical as what we have created so far."

Away from the Guardians series, Gunn has been busy in the DC universe with the recently released The Suicide Squad and its upcoming spinoff Peacemaker, which will focus on John Cena's titular character. 

The Marvel threequel will release May 5, 2023. Until then, check out how to watch Marvel movies in order to get up to speed on the MCU.

Molly Edwards
Entertainment Writer

I'm an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.