Watch Karen Gillan Dance With A Creepy Accurate Chris Pratt Dummy (That Breathes!) On Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Set

Karen Gillan as Nebula holding Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
(Image credit: Marvel Studios)

In one stylish moment during the opening scene of the recently released Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Karen Gillan’s Nebula carries an intoxicated Peter Quill almost as if he weighs nothing. Chances are you were probably able to mentally zoom out of the fantasy the new Marvel movie creates, leading you to note how impressive it would be for Gillan to actually haul Chris Pratt on set. Now, writer/director James Gunn has given up exactly how the scene was achieved. As it turns out, it was achieved with a scary accurate dummy that resembled Pratt -- and it even breathes! Don't believe me? Well, there's a video to prove it.

James Gunn took to TikTok, as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 sees impressive opening numbers, to show off some amazing behind-the-scenes wizardry. The practically made Chris Pratt replica was nothing short of incredible. for the scene. This very life-like dummy weighs 35 pounds, and it helped make Gillan’s absolutely badass moment look easy. Check out the video:

@officialjamesgunn

♬ original sound - James Gunn

In the clip, you can see Chris Pratt was up and moving as Karen Gillan, who was in full Nebula makeup at the time, was instructed to see if she can carry the dummy and walk toward the filmmaker with it. Gillan got so comfy handling the figure that she ended up walking around and doing a little dance with him. Meanwhile, Pratt was off to the side and could be heard asking if the team over at Legacy Effects really used his exact proportions. As it turns out, Pratt did a scan at some point, which allowed them to recreate his body. The end result is creepy (but also cool as heck), huh? Take a look at this, too: 

@officialjamesgunn

♬ original sound - James Gunn

In addition to that awesome behind-the-scenes video, James Gunn also shared a video of the Chris Pratt dummy “breathing.” Can you imagine how Chris Pratt felt about all of this? Well, Gunn also shot the moment where Pratt decided to hold the replica for himself and the moment is hilarious:

@officialjamesgunn

♬ original sound - James Gunn

The actor cries out “My poor wife!” who is of course Katherine Schwarzenegger, who shares sweet photos of their two babies.  He saw with his own eyes what his wife looks at when he goes to sleep. He also joked that it was “terrible for his self-esteem” to see what he really looks like face-to-face. Not many of us get to quite literally hold ourselves and see our dimensions for how they are, so I imagine it's a pretty surreal moment.

But the icing on the cake of this whole thing is that James Gunn shared in an interview with IGN that he had the dummy in his office for a few months after filming ended. And apparently, people would come in and “scream” at the sight of it. I can't say that I wouldn't be thrown off by a breathing replica of Chris Pratt. Though by the looks of it, Karen Gillan managed with it just fine.

Those who want to see the dummy on the big screen can check out Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in theaters now. Be sure that you also watch our new video, which sees CinemaBlend playing trivia with the cast.  And of course, be on the lookout for upcoming Marvel movies.

Sarah El-Mahmoud
Staff Writer

Sarah El-Mahmoud has been with CinemaBlend since 2018 after graduating from Cal State Fullerton with a degree in Journalism. In college, she was the Managing Editor of the award-winning college paper, The Daily Titan, where she specialized in writing/editing long-form features, profiles and arts & entertainment coverage, including her first run-in with movie reporting, with a phone interview with Guillermo del Toro for Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. Now she's into covering YA television and movies, and plenty of horror. Word webslinger. All her writing should be read in Sarah Connor’s Terminator 2 voice over.