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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 recruits Borat 2's Maria Bakalova for "key role"

the MCU family is getting even bigger with the casting of Maria Bakalova

A person with blonde hair riding in the passenger seat of a car and listening to a phone. Maria Bakalova in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Image credit: Amazon Prime Video

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is adding more and more people to the Marvel Cinematic Universe; this week, we've learned its Borat Subsequent Moviefilm's Maria Bakalova. If you recall, she played Borat's teenage daughter Tutar.

As first reported by Deadline (and later confirmed by Marvel Studios), Bakalova will play a "key" but as-yet-unspecific role in the third Guardians of the Galaxy film - and has already filmed her part (barring any reshoots).

As for who she could be playing? Given the limited (i.e. nothing) known about her role, we won't hazard a guess - but knowing James Gunn, there's a chance it'll be a good surprise.

Bakalova joins a cast which includes the returning Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Sylvester Stallone, Karen Gillan, and Elizabeth Debicki, along with fellow debuting MCUers Will Poulter, Chuk Iwuji, and Daniela Melchior.

Bakalova is best known for her role in the Borat sequel, even picking up a Critics' Choice Movie Award for it- and nominations for an Oscar, a BAFTA, a Screen Actors Guild, and Golden Globes awards. She's starring in the upcoming Judd Apatow film The Bubble with her Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 co-star Karen Gillan.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 debuts in theaters May 5, 2023.


If you haven't noticed, the MCU is getting a little crowd - so we had an idea to help re-organize it for the future.

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Chris Arrant

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Chris Arrant is the Popverse's Editor-in-Chief. He has written about pop culture for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel, Newsarama, CBR, and more. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. (He/him)
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