Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: Pom Klementieff found her chosen family

Guardians of the Galaxy star Pom Klementieff found the third movie’s “darker tone” to be really emotional.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is in cinemas now.

There are parts of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 that star Pom Klementieff found “devastating” and “heartbreaking”.

But that didn’t stop her from watching it twice. “I actually want to watch it again, and usually that’s not the case with movies I’m in, but this one is really special,” she told news.com.au. “It’s a very emotional movie, there’s a darker tone to this one for sure.

“The characters have been through a lot of trauma, and you get to really learn Rocket’s backstory and where he comes from. It’s incredible, and it’s devastating and heartbreaking.”

The Canadian-born French actor has been playing the empath Mantis since the second Guardians movie, and while she wasn’t part of the original crew, her memorable performances in that, plus two Avengers films, a Thor one and a Guardians Christmas special has made her feel as if she was.

That tight bond with the cast off-screen and between the characters onscreen has cemented why Guardians remain so many fans’ favourite corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

When Klementieff joined the MCU in 2015, she was inserting herself into an already established ensemble. She admitted she was a little anxious but said everyone was so welcoming. Flash forward eight years and she feels like she’s in mourning for something.

Guardians 3 is the last hurrah for the current iteration of the superheroes. Director and writer James Gunn, whose “specific and beautiful vision, as Klementieff put it, has fuelled every aspect of Guardians’ creative and commercial success, has already left the building.

Pom Klementieff was cast as Mantis in 2015. Picture: Marvel Studios

Gunn has taken up residence across the road at the rival DC Studios, where he will be shepherding an-often lost superheroes screen slate. So, whatever version of Guardians come next, if there is a next, it won’t be what fans have been following since 2014.

Klementieff said she’s been so busy the full emotional force of the moment hasn’t hit her yet – but knows that when it does, it’s going to be a thing.

“It’s like mourning, you know?” she explained. “Sometimes it grabs you and the sadness hits you at unexpected moments. It’s like a funeral. Sometimes people don’t cry at the funeral, they cry before or after, or two days later.

“It’s like that, it just goes back and forth, it flows, you know?”

But Klementieff said the gang are such good friends she knows that they will see each other again. “And we’re going to work together again, we’re going to find ways to keep going,” she promised.

“I feel very lucky because it’s not always the case. Working on movies, it’s very rare to love everyone and just get along with everyone and have such a strong connection. I feel very lucky to be part of that.

“And there was a scene towards the end of the movie that was very emotional for us because it felt like maybe it would be the last time that we play the characters together and the emotions were real.

“You can see it and you can feel it when you watch that scene.”

Klementieff with James Gunn and co-star Karen Gillan. Picture: Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Disney

In some ways, it’s a bond that was forged in fire. In 2018, as production was gearing up for Guardians 3, Gunn was fired by Disney for tasteless old tweets that had been resurfaced by right-wing forces eager to take the director down for his Donald Trump criticisms.

A Hollywood Reporter profile revealed Klementieff burst into tears when she found out, during San Diego Comic-Con.

Not unlike their onscreen counterparts, the cast rallied around their director, lobbying behind the scenes – and in public – for his reinstatement. It worked, eventually. But not before Gunn made The Suicide Squad for DC first, which pushed the timeline for the third Guardians movie back a few years.

But now that the movie is here – and being embraced by fans considering its robust $US282 million first weekend international box office, including $9.48 million in Australia – it’s bittersweet. Fans will get to say goodbye, but it hits a lot harder for the cast.

The appeal of the movies’ found family narrative mirrors Klementieff’s, who lost her parents at a young age, feelings in real life.

“I connect with that in such a strong way,” she said. “I’ve been through trauma, like a lot of people, and chosen families are very important.

“When you go through losses, what is important is the people you meet along the way that become the people that you want to fight for.”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is in cinemas now

Originally published as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3: Pom Klementieff found her chosen family