Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Includes Crazy Cameo from James Gunn’s Wife Jennifer Holland

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has its fair share big cameos – but one that seems to be really delighting people is the unexpected(?) appearance of James Gunn’s wife, actress Jennifer Holland. Holland has had a breakout role in the DC Universe playing the character of A.R.G.U.S. agent Emilia Harcourt in The Suicide Squad and its TV series spinoff Peacemaker. Funny enough, Holland has been on something of a roll making cameo appearances lately: she appeared as Harcourt in a sequence of the Black Adam movie, as well as a sequence of Shazam: Fury of the Gods. Now, Jennifer Holland is getting to play in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! 

(SPOILERS FOLLOW!) 

Jennifer Holland’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. Cameo Explained

The Second Act of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 see the Guardians travel to the Orgoscope, the headquarters of the High Evolutionary’s intergalactic genetics corporation and public facade, Orgocorp. The Guardians are trying to infiltrate the HQ and find key intelligence on overriding the security measures High Evolutionary left inside of Rocket’s body; as usual, the plan goes to hell and they end up having to fight her way out of Orgocorp. 

While trying to get to the records about Rocket, Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) come up against a hard-nosed administrator named Administrator Kwol (or “Kick-Ass Woman Overlord”). In a bizarrely hilarious sequence, Star-Lord is trying to appeal to the heroic nature his version Gamora achieved working with the Guardians – but the post-Endgame Gamora stresses that she is no hero at all. When Kwol resists coercion Star-Lord thinks his charm can solve the problem; Gamora has a very different take, and promptly shoots Kwol in the leg, maiming her. Kwol dragged screaming in horror into helping the Guardians get to Rocket’s file. 

Jennifer Holland’s Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Cameo Causes Controversy

James Gunn has seen a growing chorus of critics single out his penchant for putting family and friends into his films. That “controversy” has only sparked counterarguments and accusations of misogyny against Holland: 

Conspicuously, more people seem to be okay with, say, Gunn giving major roles to his brother Sean (who does motion-capture for Rocket and plays Kraglin in Guardians, as well as appearing in many other Gunn-related projects) rather than his wife Jennifer. However, at the end of the day, making movies with your friends and loved ones IS the dream, no? And if Hollywood marriages have taught us anything, it’s that working with your spouse on a project probably works out better than spending months apart. 

Plus: Jennifer Holland’s scenes in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 are pretty hilarious. See for yourself: the film is now in theaters.