In 2017, Gillan stepped into the massive commercial sandbox of Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle alongside Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, and Jack Black. Playing Ruby Roundhouse, her character design sparked immediate online discourse before the film's debut due to her midriff-baring costume. Once audiences entered theaters, the context became obvious: the attire was a biting satire of early video game hyper-sexualization.
Gillan turned what could have been a standard decorative role into a masterclass in kinetic physical comedy. Playing Martha, an awkward high school student trapped inside the body of an Amazonian fighter, she mined huge laughs from the disconnect between her lethal martial arts abilities and agonizing social clumsiness. Her celebrity fitness routine during this phase demanded intense disciplines, blending martial arts fight choreography with high-intensity interval training. The commercial gamble paid off exponentially; the franchise cleared well over $1.7 billion worldwide across two installments, proving she could share top billing with Hollywood's biggest box office earners without losing her unique comic timing.
