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Cinemablend
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Mick Joest

James Gunn Knows About All Your Graphic Nebula And Quill And Nebula And Mantis Fan Fiction: 'You Know Bugborg?'

Karen Gillan as Nebula holding Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 lie ahead, so read at your own risk.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 continues to impress at the box office, and as it does so, Marvel fans seem fixated on the idea of some of its characters getting together. Thanks to the 2023 new movie release, many seem to think that Nebula and Star-Lord might have a thing for each other, and it's led to some racy fan fiction hitting the web. If you're out there making "Quebula" content, just be aware that James Gunn might've seen it. And if that weren't enough, he's been checking out "Bugborg" stuff, too. 

James Gunn and Chris Pratt took some time to chat with IGN and read comments from people who like the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. One commenter brought up the notion that Nebula and Peter Quill would actually work as a couple in a weird way From there, Gunn broke off into a related tangent about the amount of fan fiction there is for Quebula -- which if you haven't figured it out, is the ship name for the two characters. Of course, that sounds somewhat tame compared to the ever popular Bugborg:

Ooh, Quebula. Yeah, all the internet is talking about Quebula…Yeah Quebula’s a big thing right after Bugborg. You know Bugborg? Bugborg is Mantis and Nebula. They have a lot of fan fiction out there.

Upcoming Marvel Movies

Apparently, there's a fair number of people on the Internet that are keen on the idea of a romantic pairing between Peter Quill and Nebula or Mantis and Nebula. It seems like now that Peter and Gamora are officially over, devotees are hungry for another major relationship in Guardians saga. Of course, they could always just revisit the original movies with their Disney+ subscription and relive the Peter and Gamora era. Though I guess that wouldn't scratch the itch as much as a fresh relationship would. 

Chris Pratt wasn't aware of the viral chatter centered around Quebula but apparently was in on the talk about Bugborg. Of course, it's also possible that he was just trying to set up a zinger because, right after James Gunn went on his rant about the amount of fan fiction on the internet for these fictional couples, Pratt said this to him: 

I can’t believe you have time to write all that.

Ironically enough, James Gunn might've ensured there's a chance that neither of those couples ever get together in the MCU following the ending of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Star-Lord left the team and returned to Earth to reunite with his grandfather, while Mantis parted ways with the Guardians to forge her own path in life. 

As for Nebula, she intended to build a life on Knowhere and help give its refugees the comfortable life she never had. I suppose that it's possible that either Peter or Mantis could return to visit Neb, which would set the stage for romance in the future. Heck, maybe there's already some fan fiction out there that imagines exactly that!

One thing I know for sure, however, is that it won't be written by James Gunn. He's hard at work on the bold new direction for DC movies and TV shows and calling out rumors about the decisions he's making for the franchise. I think we can all safely assume that he's not spending his spare time writing fan fiction -- if he even has any time to spare.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is still in theaters, and fan fiction about it is still on the interwebs. You won't find any of it on CinemaBlend, but we do have more info available to you, such as insight into Groot's major scene at the end of the movie!

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