We’ve Got Our First Look at Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’!

I love Elizabeth Debicki. I loved her in The Night Manager, in which she plays Jed, a sensitive young woman trapped in an abusive relationship with a sadistic criminal arms dealer (Hugh Laurie). I loved in in the most recent season of The Crown, in which she plays a fraying Princess Diana divorcing Prince Charles and giving tell-all interviews to the BBC. Debicki is an amazing dramatic actor, and she’s magnetic in every scene.

That’s why I especially loved seeing her as Ayesha in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

To catch you up if you need it: Ayesha is the Golden High Priestess of the Sovereign, a race of ultra-conceited gold people with massive sticks up their butts (not literally, Gamora, calm down). GotG 2 begins with the Guardians completing a job for the Sovereign, but then they get on Ayesha’s bad side when Rocket steals a bunch of batteries. Ayesha then hires the Ravagers to go after the Guardians. Remember the scene where she’s meeting the Ravagers, and her servants are unrolling a carpet in front of her? Or where she hears Taserface’s name and bursts out laughing? Classic Ayesha!

What makes Ayesha so great, to me, is its delightful contrast with Debicki’s dramatic work. It’s always nice to see an enormously talented actor put on gold body paint and play the galaxy’s most self-absorbed alien.

Now, we’ve got our first glimpse at Ayesha’s return in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3! Empire has released an image of Ayesha sitting in a command chair, turning back over her shoulder to talk to Adam Warlock (Will Poulter).

According to Empire, Adam Warlock has been grown in a cocoon by Ayesha and the rest of the Sovereign, so that they can use him as a living weapon. Poulter tells Empire that Warlock, newly hatched, is “a young person entering the world, trying to develop his moral compass” in GotG 3.

I can’t wait to see Ayesha, Adam, and the rest of the Sovereign return in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. You know what would be amazing? A Night Manager reunion in which Loki confronts Ayesha. Or teams up with her! I dunno, I’m just throwing that out there in case anyone at Marvel is listening.

(featured image: Marvel Studios)