Guardians Of The Galaxy 3's Historic F-Bomb Went Right Over Karen Gillan's Head
Have you heard the news? James Gunn has done the impossible with "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3." No, I'm not talking about rescuing the Marvel Cinematic Universe from a string of offensively bad movies and restoring faith in the once all-powerful franchise. And no, I'm not talking about Gunn actually getting people excited for his "Superman: Legacy" movie by delivering what looks to be a VFX tour de force — at least if the early reactions are anything to go by. No, I write of the monumental cultural moment that is the MCU's first f-bomb.
Yes, Gunn has done it ladies and gentleman. After 15 years of f-bomb-free PG-13 superhero movies, "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" has finally gifted us all with the elusive expletive, courtesy of a frustrated Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt). Anyone who's seen the "Parks and Recreation" bloopers will know Pratt is a master of improvisational crassness, and in "Vol. 3" he makes that classic move of dropping a curse word in an otherwise family friendly affair. But this time, his cursing actually made it to the final cut, despite Kevin Feige trying to steer Gunn away from being the first director to get the f-word into one of Disney's Marvel movies.
The moment comes as Karen Gillan's Nebula struggles to open a car door, only for a frustrated Peter to tell her to "Open the f****** door." But for casual fans and those completely uninterested in the MCU's goings on, such a historic development will likely go completely over their heads. Imagine that. Worse still, it seems that in the moment, Gillan herself was entirely unaware of the significance of Pratt's cursing.
'I didn't actually even hear it'
Since 2008's "Iron Man," the MCU has kept the expletives relatively inoffensive, with the odd s*** and a few b*****s cropping up here and there. Star-Lord himself tried to get an f-bomb past the censors in the original "Guardians of the Galaxy," but was thwarted by an exploding light bulb. And while you'll find a few f***s in the Sony Marvel movies, until the emotional end to the "Guardians" trilogy that is "Vol. 3" the MCU had managed to keep the language fairly clean. Which is why, for fans of Kevin Feige's cinematic universe, Chris Pratt's specific cursing is a significant moment.
But not for Karen Gillan. Speaking to Collider, the Nebula actor admitted she did't even realize it was a big deal when shooting the scene in question:
"I didn't notice that he [Pratt] said it until someone said, 'Oh, that's the first F-bomb in MCU history,' and I was like, 'Really?' I didn't actually even hear it because, I guess, I'm Scottish and hear a lot of swearing all the time."
How can it be that Nebula herself doesn't even think the first f-bomb in MCU history is a big deal? It's an outrage, I'm sure you'll agree. But fret not, as the Inverness-born actor did refer to the scene as "a monumental thing" even though it's "used in the most throwaway setting." Which means we can all breathe a sigh of relief until the next tectonic cinematic event transpires.
"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" opens in theaters on May 5, 2023.