Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Adds Breakout Star Of Borat 2 In Mystery Role

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has changed drastically in the time since fans first watched Peter Quill and the "Guardians of the Galaxy" gang join Earth's Mightiest Heroes to fight Thanos (Josh Brolin) in a battle for the fate of the universe in 2019's "Avengers: Endgame." Since then, Phase 4 has been all over the multiverse, dropping efforts that make "Guardians" galaxy-spanning space opera look almost quaint. Come 2023, we'll finally get to see how the rock-hopping rogues fare in this new multiverse of madness by way of James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3."

The sequel has been in production since November 2021, and it wrapped back in May 2022 — with Gunn announcing that he'd finished principal photography in an emotional Instagram post. The director has had an incredibly busy couple of years working on "The Suicide Squad" for Warner Bros. and its spin-off series "Peacemaker" for HBO Max, but he's finally been able to finish telling the "Guardians" story that he started back in 2014.

The highly anticipated sequel has a few new stars joining its ranks, including "Midsommar" and "Dopesick" star Will Poulter, who's set to play the cosmic hero Adam Warlock. Meanwhile, Gunn also recruited "The Suicide Squad" actor Daniela Melchior and "Peacemaker" alum Chukwudi Iwuji for unknown roles. Now, that all-star cast list expands again, this time to include the breakout star from the pandemic-era sequel everyone needed: "Borat 2."

Yes, Maria Bakalova is set to make her MCU debut in the James Gunn-directed sequel according to Deadline. The "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" star will play a mystery Marvel character, and it's not clear whether she'll be a hero, a villain, or something in between. Interestingly, Deadline reports that she isn't the "unannounced actor" that Gunn has been teasing for a while — clearly the director has plenty of secrets up his sleeves for "Vol.3." But considering this is his last outing with the Guardians, it's understandable that he wants to pull out all the stops for his big finale.

Bakalova's comedic talents in "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" were praised by critics, and she was nominated for an Oscar thanks to her performance, although she lost out to Youn Yuh-jung for a role in "Minari." Audiences will remember that she plays Borat's (Sacha Baron Cohen) daughter, Tutar, and that she made headlines after she interviewed Rudy Giuliani as part of the film. Considering Gunn has always injected his signature devilish sense of fun into the "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies, it'll be interesting to see what he has in store for Bakalova when the film eventually arrives in theaters on May 5, 2023.