Karen Gillan Is Making A Pandemic Comedy

Karen Gillan is set to star in Judd Apatow's next comedy, set during the pandemic and also starring Pedro Pascal, Maria Bakalova, and others.

By Ross Bonaime | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

karen gillan jumanji

As we hit the second year of the coronavirus, we’re starting to see entertainment inspired by the pandemic. Recent seasons of Superstore and Grey’s Anatomy have tackled coronavirus, and Doug Liman’s Locked Down set a heist during the pandemic. Now, it looks as though Judd Apatow’s next project, entitled The Bubble, will also be set during coronavirus times, and with a cast that boasts Pedo Pascal, Karen Gillan, and many others.

According to The Hollywood Reporter’s sources, The Bubble is inspired by the making of Jurassic World: Dominion, which had its cast stuck in the United Kingdom for several months during the coronavirus lockdown, and with production starring and stopping because of positive COVID-19 tests. However, according to Netflix, the new Pedro Pascal and Karen Gillan film have no connection to Jurassic Park: Dominion.

Karen Gillan

While not much is known about The Bubble at this point, it was revealed that Pedro Pascal and Karen Gillan will play the stars of the fake franchise. Leslie Mann and David Duchovny will also be playing a formerly married acting couple who now must quarantine together. The film will also feature Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’s breakout star Maria Bakalova, Iris Apatow, Fred Armisen, Keegan-Michael Key, and Peter Serafinowicz.

Judd Apatow will be directing and co-writing with Pam Brady, who has written on such projects as South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, Team America: World Police, Hot Rod, and Hamlet 2. Apatow’s last film was last year’s The King of Staten Island, which was originally planned for a theatrical release, but went to VOD services instead. The Bubble will be Apatow’s first project without Universal Studios in over fifteen years, and the film will be coming directly to Netflix. 

The Bubble is an interesting project for both stars Pedro Pascal and Karen Gillan. Pascal has never been the star of a film before, and this will be the actor’s first major comedic work. While Gillan has been a part of major ensembles in films like Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, she also hasn’t been the star of her own major film. However, Gillan does have more experience in comedy, especially with television shows like NTSF:SD:SUV:: and Selfie

But both stars Pedro Pascal and Karen Gillan have some major film projects on the way. Pascal will be in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent alongside Nicolas Cage, who is playing himself. Gillan already has two projects wrapped in which she looks to be the star. In Gunpowder Milkshake, Gillan plays a female assassin alongside Lena Headey and Angela Bassett. Gillan will also be starring in the sci-fi thriller Dual, which she will appear in with Aaron Paul and Jesse Eisenberg. Both Gunpowder Milkshake and Dual are expected to be released in 2021. In addition to these two projects, Gillan is also scheduled to appear in 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder.

Karen Gillan Selfie

With a great cast that includes Pedro Pascal, Karen Gillan, Maria Bakalova, and others, it will be interesting to see if Judd Apatow and Netflix can make a film that people will actually want to see about the pandemic. While it’s not clear when The Bubble will be released, it seems the sooner the better for any entertainment that focuses on the pandemic at this point.