French Canadian actor Pom Klementieff (‘Oldboy’, ‘Hacker’s Game’) has joined the cast of James Gunn’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ the sequel to 2014’s surprise runaway Marvel hit. Her casting comes after a wide search for a specifically Asian actress, even though Gunn attests that Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill/Star-Lord will be the only Earthling in the film.
Gunn had previously announced that the ragtag gang of cosmic oddballs would be joined by another female character in addition to Zoe Saldana’s kickass Gamora. Though nothing else has been revealed about Klementieff’s part, the fact that Marvel was specifically searching for an Asian female actor and the fact that they selected a French speaker narrows the choices down to ONE.
This is just my theory, but I think it’s pretty sound. There is a member of the Guardians in the comic book who is originally from Vietnam, where they speak French, none other than Mantis! Mantis is a former Avenger who, with some Kree involvement, ascended to the cosmic role as the Celestial Madonna. She joined the Silver Surfer on several missions in space and has been floating around the Marvel Universe ever since.
Mantis has a bevvy of psychic powers including telepathy and astral projection, as well as the ability to communicate and manipulate plant life. In fact, at one point, the woman the Avengers believed to be Mantis turned out to be a plant creature created by the real deal. Obviously, considering that the Guardians have a sentient tree on the team opens the door for some interesting interactions.
Mantis is also a martial arts expert, especially in regard to pressure points which she can detect with no effort. Her hand-to-hand fighting skills are so finely honed that lacking any super human strength, she has single-handedly taken down both Wonder Man and Thor!
Despite not being a name on every comic fan’s tongue, Mantis is a groundbreaking character, as one of the first significant Asian super heroes and having martial arts prowess before the kung-fu craze really took off in the US.
As stated, this is my theory. There are other female Guardians– Aleta, Phyla-Vell, Moondragon, Angela– but those are all Caucasian. Sure, filmmakers today are seeking to be more diverse in their casting, so of course Klementieff could be playing one of them, another character from the comics– possibly a villain, or even a brand new character. But the fact that Marvel was seeking an Asian actor indicates that they had something specific in mind.
Mantis Klementieff will join Pratt, Saldana, Dave Bautista and some CGI that sounds like Vin Diesel and Bradley Cooper along with Karen Gillan (Nebula) and Benicio del Toro (The Collector) who are also due to return. Filming on the sequel is slated to begin early in 2016 and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ will hit theaters on May 5, 2017. Director Gunn is also handling scripting duties. The Hulk is NOT in it.
What do you think? Would Klementieff make a good Mantis? Or do you think she will play someone else? What else would you like to see in ‘GotGv2’?
Source: Coming Soon
