Probably one of the most criminally underrated characters of the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' franchise is Gamora's wayward sister Nebula, played by Karen Gillan. There's very much an 'is she evil or benign?' thing going on with her, which we get to the bottom of in the second film.

Karen Gillan stars as Nebula in 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'Karen Gillan stars as Nebula in 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'

'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' dropped over the weekend, and with it we met a host of new characters and learnt a little bit more about some of the minor names of the 2014 movie. Nebula, loyal adopted daughter of the tyrannical Thanos and the rival sibling of Zoe Saldana's heroine character Gamora, is just one such example.

'Nebula was definitely a bad guy in the first 'Guardians' film and that's what I love about her, to be honest', Karen reflects. 'I love that she has this real dark side and I get to explore that which is really cool.'

Watch the trailer for 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' here:

When it comes to 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2', little has changed, but we're about to see what drives Nebula's aggression. 'In terms of the second film, she's still a bad guy but we're gonna get to understand her motivations for being a bad guy a little bit more', Karen continues. 'That might not make her such a bad guy anymore because I think as soon as we develop empathy for anyone and understand why they're doing the things that they're doing, they sort of don't seem as bad anymore.'

Karen's 'Guardians' role was certainly a remarkable change in direction for the sweet-faced Scottish redhead, whose previous roles included the Doctor's companion Amy Pond in 'Doctor Who' and ghost-hunter Kaylie Russell in the 2013 horror 'Oculus'. Some of Karen's forthcoming roles include a reprisal of Nebula in 'Avengers: Infinity War', Ruby Roundhouse in 'Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle' and another Ruby in Kansas drama 'All Creatures Here Below'. She is also set to launch her full-length feature directorial and screenwriting debut next year with the comedy 'The Party's Just Beginning'. 

More: Read our review of 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' 

'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' is out now.