Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Created An Ultra-Realistic Chris Pratt Doll For Karen Gillan To Carry
The phrase "movie magic" is thrown around a lot in discussing the process of making the movies that so many of us enjoy. How are these cinematic moments actually brought to life? What goes into making us so thoroughly suspend our disbelief? In the case of director James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3," one instance involved creating a super realistic Chris Pratt doll to double as Star-Lord in a key scene.
/Film's own Jenna Busch recently spoke with Pom Klementieff (Mantis) and Karen Gillan (Nebula) in anticipation of the movie's release. Fans may recall the shot at the end of the trailer for "GOTG3" that sees Nebula caring Star-Lord in her arms. It turns out, Gunn and the production created a life-sized, incredibly realistic prop to make that possible. Here's what Gillan had to say about it:
"Obviously, I was not carrying him for real, because I looked pretty effortless in it, which I thought was a cool effect. But yeah, they had to create a doll of Chris Pratt for me to be able to carry."
Klementieff added, "It was incredibly realistic. It was actually scary. The first time we saw it, I could barely look at it because it looked like he was actually dead. Really dead." To which, Gillan replied, "This thing had pores; it had tiny fuzz that a person has on their face." Klementieff also called it "Incredible," with Gillan adding that "The level of detail — I thought it was him! It was crazy."
This is why movies are so expensive
Naturally, having a life-sized model decoy of Chris Pratt might present some unique opportunities. Klementieff explained that "we wanted to film creepy or weird videos of it, and it was like, 'You know what, it's so real that we can't even do that. It feels wrong.'" Gillan responded by saying, "Now we don't know where it is. That's a little alarming." In all likelihood, it's probably just sitting in some Disney warehouse somewhere, either to never be seen again or to be auctioned off years down the line as part of some Marvel memorabilia collection.
The fate of this Star-Lord doll is unknown but one of the big takeaways here is just how much goes into making a blockbuster of this scale. This incredibly lifelike doll was created for a single scene that represents mere moments worth of a movie that is well over two hours. Imagine what that prop cost to make? Not to mention everything else in that shot, from the costumes to the visual effects. For people who wonder how the budget for a film like this can easily exceed $150 million, stories like this can help shed some light on why these productions are so very expensive.
Is it money well spent? That's another question entirely, but this movie figures to be a sizable hit at the box office and should represent a bounce back after the disappointment that was "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania." Whatever level of success the sequel does achieve, at least a small percentage of it is owed to that Chris Pratt doll. Movie magic at work.
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" hits theaters on May 5, 2023.