Marvel Studios is still reveling in the success of Sam Raimi‘s “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness” as that sequel has already crossed $900 million globally with a streaming release next month on June 22 and next, the studio is looking to release a string of more blockbusters over the next year. These include “Thor: Love & Thunder,” “Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania,” “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “The Marvels,” and James Gunn‘s “Guardians of The Galaxy Vol.3.” The latter project has added yet another actress despite having wrapped months back.
A report from Deadline has revealed that breakout Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova (“The Bubble“), who earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her fantastic performance in “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” has taken an unnamed role in the upcoming MCU film. Bakalova joins fellow new additions to the cosmic adventure franchise such as Will Poulter (“Midsommar“) as Adam Warlock, Chukwudi Iwuji (“Peacemaker“), and Daniela Melchoir (“The Suicide Squad“).
Of course, as with most news items about his projects, Gunn took to Instagram to confirm the casting news.
In addition to the new faces, some returning names are rounding out the ‘Guardians 3’ cast, including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Sylvester Stallone, Karen Gillan, and Elizabeth Debicki.
It’s unclear what Bakalova’s role is. Still, we might speculate that Gunn would be planting seeds for a new Guardians roster or possibly adding similar cosmic superheroes like The Starjammers from the pages of “X-Men” comics, a team led by Cyclops’ father Christopher Summers, aka, Corsair. The team was recently teased in an Easter Egg at the new Guardians-centric Disney Park ride “Cosmic Rewind“ and with the rights at Marvel could be easily used in future MCU films.
“Guardians 3” is set to be released on May 5, 2023, barring any further slate changes for the Phase Four lineup.