When the first pictures of Karen Gillan in the Jumanji remake were released last September, fans noticed something odd.
While co-stars Kevin Hart, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jack Black appeared in practical expedition gear for the promotional shots, the Doctor Who actress was standing in the jungle in a midriff top and mini skirt.
![Kevin Hart, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Karen Gillan and Jack Black in the Jumanji remake.](/web/20170126125024im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/x/d/r/2/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtxci8.png/1485219373582.jpg)
But Gillan has defended her costume, stressing that there is "a really valid reason" for her character's lack of clothes.
Comparing the situation to that which she faced while on Doctor Who, where her character Amy was known for wearing short skirts, she told the Hollywood Reporter she would never take on a role that was "truly gratuitous for no reason".
"I've experienced something similar when I worked on Doctor Who and there was such an uproar about my costume when that was first revealed, so I thought it was happening all over again," she said, when asked about dealing with the "hoopla over [her] skimpy outfit".
"But I have to say, I'd never take on a role that was truly gratuitous for no reason. There's a really valid reason why she's wearing that. My character is really not happy about it!"
The Scottish actress echoed the sentiment expressed in a tweet she sent shortly after the controversy emerged last year.
In what may turn out to be a spoiler, Gillan tweeted that there was "a reason" why she was wearing "child-sized" clothes.
Jumanji! Yes I'm wearing child sized clothes and YES there is a reason! The pay off is worth it, I promise! #Jumanji pic.twitter.com/qBshnhwV6K
— Karen Gillan (@karengillan) September 21, 2016
(Of course, the clothes are not "child-sized": they are fitted to Gillan's adult body, but just very short and tight across the bust and bum. Also, this is a plotline that only seems to befall the film's female character.)
The attire of women in action movies came under the spotlight in 2015, when Bryce Dallas Howard's character in Jurassic World appeared to wear a pair of high heels throughout all of the film's fast-paced action sequences.
Howard defended the decision, saying the costume helped to express her character as coming from a "corporate environment" and "ill-equipped to be in the jungle", adding that being barefoot would have been dangerous.
"And you know what? She's in high heels because she's a woman who has been in high heels her whole life, and she can f—ing sprint in them," she told Cosmopolitan. "She can. That's kind of how I perceived it. She doesn't have to be in menswear and flats in order to outrun a T-Rex. That's what women can do."
In a tweet sent last December, the series' director seemed to make it clear that Howard would not be wearing heels in the sequel.
"See you soon, Bryce Dallas Howard," he tweeted as the movie began shooting, alongside a collage of flat-heeled boots.
See you soon, @BryceDHoward pic.twitter.com/dSHIBRw8C0
— Colin Trevorrow (@colintrevorrow) December 1, 2016