Karen Gillan Transforms Into James Gunn's Poison Ivy In Retro DC Fan Art

DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn has been slowly but surely building out his and Peter Safran's new DC Universe. In January 2023, the "Guardians of the Galaxy" filmmaker announced the first wave of TV and film projects that will launch the DCU. Since then, he's cast multiple noteworthy actors to play major characters in his, Safran, and Warner Bros. Discovery's ambitious multimedia franchise, including Superman (David Corenswet), Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), Lex Luthor (Nicolas Hoult), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and Supergirl (Milly Alcock) herself.

That said, one popular comic book character who has not yet been cast in James Gunn's DC Universe is Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley, aka Poison Ivy. It may be sometime before a new live-action iteration of the beloved comic book villain (or anti-hero, depending on who you ask) is actually cast, too. Fortunately, that possibility didn't stop artist Davi Alves from taking to Instagram and envisioning what "Doctor Who" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" star Karen Gillan could look like as the character in a retro-inspired piece of fan art. In what may not come as much of a surprise to those familiar with Gillan, the artwork makes a convincing case for why she'd be a logical choice to play Poison Ivy. She would, at the very least, definitely look the part.

For the time being, Karen Gillan's chances of actually getting cast as Poison Ivy in a future DCU film or TV show are unclear. However, the actor has expressed interest in playing the character. In an April 2023 interview with Total Film, Gillan was asked if there are any DC Comics characters she'd like to play. She responded, "I always thought that Poison Ivy was really fun. So maybe something like that would be cool." Touching on her long history with James Gunn, she added, "Honestly, if James asked me to play an alien that sits in the background of a shot and doesn't talk, I would say yes [laughs]. Because working with him has been one of the great joys of my career so far."

She isn't the only actor who has made their desire to take on the next live-action incarnation of the iconic DC villain known. During a June 2023 appearance on the "Bingeworthy" podcast, Katee Sackhoff both addressed Gillan's comments and once again shared her interest in reprising the role of Poison Ivy, whom she voiced in the 2021 two-part animated film, "Batman: The Long Halloween." "[I] saw Karen Gillan wants to play her, too. And, like, she's got a closer 'in' than I do, so I feel like that's a given. I feel like I've got no horse in that race if Karen wants to play that character," Sackhoff said. While lavishing Gillan with immense admiration and praise, "The Mandalorian" actor still maintained that "[I] still would love to, for sure."