Fans of the universe, the Guardians of the Galaxy returns with its third volume! To those who have watched Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and are still looking for content from the film, we have some exciting news in store for you! We have an exclusive interview with Kai Zen, who stars as Phyla in the movie! We’re eager to talk to Kai about her role as Phyla, her thoughts and experience with the film and cast members, and more. Because the film is already released, if you’re planning on reading this interview and haven’t had the time to watch the movie, this article will actively avoid any spoilers regarding the film. For those planning to watch before reading this article, we highly recommend watching it first. And now, onto this interview and its refresher.
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For those who remember watching this film in theatres on May 5th, you’ll certainly remember that this film was a member of the MCU’s Phase Five. It became the second-highest-grossing film of 2023. But for those who need a refresher on the film, here’s a brief synopsis. Following the aftermath of The Avengers: Endgame, Peter rallies the team to defend the universe and Rocket. If they aren’t successful in this endeavor, it could spell the end of the Guardians as they know it.
The film was directed and written by James Gunn, the same director of Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. It tells the story of Rocket’s origins and the High Evolutionary. For those reprising their roles, actors/actresses such as Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper return to their respective roles. Newer roles in the film were included, such as Zoe Saldaña and our interviewee Kai Zen.
Speaking of the Guardians of the Galaxy, here’s their origin. A team created by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, the Guardians first appeared in an issue titled Annihilation: Conquest in its sixth issue, back in April 2008. For those who don’t know, Annihilation: Conquest serves as a direct sequel to another comic series. It was called Annihilation under Marvel’s name. Annihilation: Conquest focused on cosmic heroes defending the universe against enemies called the Phalanx, all of whom led by Ultron.
The comic series starred enemies and allies such as Ronan the Accuser, Mantis, and Rocket. Annihilation meanwhile, served as a crossover story that highlighted several outer space-related heroes in the Marvel Universe as a one-shot issue. It reveals characters such as Galactus, Annihilus, Drax the Destroyer, Silver Surfer, Ravenous, and even Thanos. There are even some members of the films Guardians of the Galaxy included in that issue. The comic Annihilation: Conquest contained characters you’ll recognize, such as Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon, Gamora, and other characters from the recent film as Phyla-Vell and Adam Warlock. The team’s adaptation followed almost faithfully along their feature films, ranging from its characters and settings such as Knowhere. These heroes were the second team to operate under the name Guardians of the Galaxy. The original team was created by Arnold Drake, Stan Lee, and Roy Thomas in 1969. Pretty neat, huh?
Here is some information on Kai Zen! An American actress who initially promoted children’s clothing and made appearances in Xfinity commercials.Kai eventually made her acting debut as a little girl at the festival in American Housewife. It was eventually followed after with more roles. She made appearances in The Rocketeer as the voice of River, Amphibia as the voice of Young Anne, an appearance in Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight as the voice of the Young Wandering Blade, and Eureka! as Pepper.
We first asked Kai if she knew anything about her character before her audition, like her name. Kai explained how she had no idea and talked about how the name was almost like a codename of sorts. We also asked Kai if she received any description of her character or if she was left in the dark and only knew who the character was from the sides. Kai answered that her knowledge about the character was mainly known from the sides. She was left surprised by her role. When we asked how long the audition process was, Kai mentioned that it only took two self-takes. She quickly received the news to be in the film.
