Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Karen Gillan (Nebula) and Pom Klementieff (Mantis) Interview

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Disclosure: This event and trip to LA was an all expense paid journey sponsored by Disney. All thoughts, experiences and opinions are 100% my own!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Karen Gillan (Nebula) and Pom Klementieff (Mantis) Interview

While attending D23 Expo last month we had a bit of a surprise added to our agenda. We were escorted to a small room behind the event center at D23 where we were told that we were going to have the chance to interview Karen Gillan (Nebula) and Pom Klementieff (Mantis). First of all. They are both stunning. STUNNING. As you can see. And they were so fun to chat with, very excited about Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and very engaged in sharing with us their experiences in making this awesome film!

As you can see from the photos, we had a lot of laughs discussing this movie, their characters and the work (and fun) that went into creating this film. Earlier in the expo, they had both been part of a very exciting (and surprise) appearance on stage. I told you about it in my post about the upcoming Live-action slate from Disney, Marvel and Lucasfilm and as you can see in the photo below, it was an overwhelming appearance by pretty much the entire crew of Marvel and Guardians actors and actresses:

The both shared with us how amazing it is to be a part of such a wonderful franchise and to see the response from the fans was both exciting and overwhelming. Gillan shared with us her thoughts on the reception from fans:

I feel we’ve been received really well by the fans, and when we were making it, it definitely felt like we were making something special. Everyone was delivering and it just felt like everything about the first film that was so good was kind of amplified in the second film.

You could just feel their excitement about this movie and it was need to see and hear about the relationships that they form through the process.

They also shared with us their thoughts on the Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: Breakout ride. Currently part of the California Adventure Summer of Heroes promotion, they laughed at their experiences on the ride. Klementieff joked:

…maybe not eat too much before because …it’s like your organs are lifted up and then come down. It’s really crazy. And it’s really fun with the story that James Gunn wrote. I’m really happy to be a part of it.

Here’s a peek at what the ride looks like, and you can read my full post about it here.

After meeting these two, it makes me love this franchise even more. So down to earth and they represent their characters so well. When asked if they were similar to their characters, they said that they could both relate to their film characters because they became stronger women after other people believed in them, helping them to believe in themselves. I love this message for younger girls who might be looking for the same type of confidence. They both also agreed that they could relate to their respective characters in terms of facing their fears and that there are actually moments in the film that truly changed them. Klementiff shared with us that one such moment was when she really felt connected to her character was in those moments of insecurity:

I think that the moments that move me the most, are when she doesn’t believe in herself and she just needs someone to believe in her. You just need someone to believe in you and to push you.

This movie is a must see, so many wonderful things to love, including these two wonderful female characters!!