Nathan Fillon makes a surprising character in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. He plays a new character despite already being in the MCU before.
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 features Nathan Fillion in a brand new Marvel Cinematic Universe role. James Gunn's third and final Marvel Studios movie caps off the arc for the original Guardians of the Galaxy roster. When the ragtag of cosmic heroes debuted in 2014, they didn't have any name recognition outside avid Marvel Comics readers. Almost a decade later, they are some of the most popular players in the MCU. Aside from tackling their own adventures, the Guardians of the Galaxy were also pivotal in the Avengers' fight against Thanos towards the end of the Infinity Saga.
In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Star-Lord, Rocket, Groot, Mantis, Nebula, Drax, and Gamora take on one final mission together. The threequel's story pits them against the High Evolutionary, who has ties to Rocket's horrible and heartbreaking origins story. Unlike Avengers: Endgame, no main hero dies in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Instead, they all just go their separate ways to tackle their respective goals. This doesn't mean that the threequel is any less emotional or entertaining, however, especially as they battled High Evolutionary and his minions, including a prominent foe played by Gunn's frequent collaborator, Fillion.
Nathan Fillion's New GOTG 3 Character Explained
In an effort to disable the failsafe mechanism attached to Rocket's heart that prevents him from being healed, Peter Quill and the rest of the heroes embark on a journey to infiltrate Orgocorp headquarters in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The establishment is guarded by security personnel known as Orgosentries, which is led by Fillion's Master Karja. Not much is revealed about the character's backstory, but it's clear that he isn't exactly competent at his job. Thanks to Star-Lord's incredible bluffing, he and his team are able to quite easily manipulate Master Karja and his subordinates into thinking that they are mere Orgocorp employees as well.
It isn't until Drax and Mantis are spotted on the security cameras that the Orgosentries realize that they were successfully played. Chaos soon ensues, as the Guardians of the Galaxy are forced to engage in battle. Luckily for them, however, Gamora, Nebula, and Star-Lord already have the information needed to figure out what needs to be done to help Rocket. Eventually, the rag-tag heroes reunite against Master Karja and the rest of the Orgonsentries, staging one of the few stellar action set pieces in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Despite his rather brief appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Master Karja is still one of its stand-out characters, with Fillion's comedic timing shining through. It's what he represents that is more important to the threequel's story, however. Master Karja thinks highly of himself despite being a rather lowly employee of Orgocorp. He looks down on his subordinates and has no shame in talking badly about them. Beyond his post, he doesn't really think about the monstrosities that Orgocorp is doing. So while he doesn't work directly with the High Evolutionary, he is still a villain in the film, albeit perhaps unconsciously.
Who Nathan Fillion Played In The First Guardians of the Galaxy Movie
This isn't Fillion's first foray into the MCU. In fact, this isn't even his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy debut role. In Gunn's original film from 2014, the actor played "Monsterous Inmate" who confronted Quill upon his initial arrival in the Kylin prison. As the alien towered Star-Lord and made a speech about what he planned to do to him, Groot came to the rescue by sticking up his fingers up the prisoner's nose. Rocket then warned everybody not to mess with them.
Since "Monsterous Inmate" was purely a CGI character, Fillion didn't have to be on set for his part in the original Guardians of the Galaxy. He just provided the voice acting for the cocky alien, not dissimilar to what Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper have been doing for Groot and Rocket. Things are different with Master Karja, however. Because he's essentially playing some kind of human in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, with his face prominently featured in the film, Fillion had to be on location for the threequel.
Nathan Fillion Had A Cut Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Cameo
Because of the nature of his role in Guardians of the Galaxy as "Monsterous Inmate," Gunn still had the option to bring Fillion into the MCU via Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. The filmmaker wanted his role to be bigger than a glorified cameo, so he went against one. In Gunn's Facebook post from 2017, however, he explained that he was thinking of casting Fillion as the Marvel Comics character, Wonder Man.
However, with no way to incorporate him into the story, he found a way to stealthily feature the actor via a Simon Williams poster on Earth portraying Tony Stark in a fictional movie set in the MCU. Sadly, Gunn had to scrap that part of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 for pacing issues. Much has changed in the franchise since this Easter egg, however. Marvel Studios now has clear plans to bring Wonder Man into the universe, but he will be played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Meanwhile, Gunn will exclusively work on the evolving DC Universe after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.
Why Nathan Fillion Is In All Three Guardians of the Galaxy Movies
As a filmmaker, Gunn likes to work with the same actors, since most of them have become good friends with him over the years. In his Facebook post from 2017, he explains that Fillion is one of his best friends in the industry, alongside Michael Rooker and Gregg Henry. Before joining the MCU, the director was known for his 2006 horror film Slither, which featured Fillion as the main character, Bill Pardy.
Both Rooker and Henry have significant roles in the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, playing Yondu and Jason Quill (Star-Lord's grandfather), respectively. That leaves Fillion as the only one who doesn't have a prominent character in the franchise — something that is changed in the threequel. With Fillion's returning role as Master Karja, all three actors are featured in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Rooker reprises Yondu for Kraglin's vision of the late Ravager leader, while Star-Lord reunites with his grandfather in the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 post-credits scene.
Source: James Gunn/Facebook
