Spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 lie ahead, so read at your own risk.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 firmly closed the book on this iteration of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s fan-favorite team of cosmic do-gooders. But as we consider how things ended for each of the Guardians, this also serves as a great time to reflect on their journeys. Writer/director James Gunn has been doing just that during the press tour for his threequel, as he’s shared behind-the-scenes details about the narrative. One of the major details he’s discussed is the fact that Zoe Saldaña’s Gamora was meant to die before the events of Avengers: Infinity War. Additionally, he’s also revealed that he “begged’ for a specific scene in that team-up film that would help push her story forward.
Some fans seem to think that what James Gunn did with Gamora in Vol. 3 was “painful,” but pain could’ve come a lot earlier. The filmmaker discussed the beloved character’s journey during an interview with The New York Times. Amid the chat, he recalled how the daughter of Thanos was going to meet her demise in his franchise’s second installment. He also shared whether there were any other scrapped plans for the other members of the titular team:
Gamora was going to die originally in Vol. 2, and then we talked about it happening in Infinity War and that worked better for the story. But the rest of them, I always knew where they were going. I knew that the whole trilogy is about Rocket, who we think of as a supporting character, becoming the captain of the Guardians.
The idea of the green-skinned warrior dying in the 2017 movie seems somewhat strange now, given everything that’s occurred at this point. Plus, I really appreciated that it was Yondu who met his fate in that movie – even if it was sad at the time. The emotional, third-act moment solidified the relationship between the Ravager and his surrogate son, Peter Quill. So all in all, I’m pleased that Zoe Saldaña’s character got to live a bit longer.
She also got some solid moments to shine in Infinity War, before she was thrown off that cliff on Vormir, of course. One of her most tender scenes involved her boyfriend and, as the Super director explained, he specifically requested it to help develop Gamora and Star-Lord’s relationship:
I begged them to have that kiss in the movie, because it was necessary to really cement their relationship. I had a kiss in Vol. 2 that I cut — it was awesome, but it came in a weird time. At the end of Vol. 2, you establish the fact that they have feelings for each other pretty distinctly, but in Infinity War, we needed to establish that they were now boyfriend-girlfriend and this was a normal thing for them. It wasn’t really about the kiss, it was about showing that they were now a couple.
That liplock did indeed confirm her and Peter Quill’s relationship status and, even though it was sweet to see, it made her eventual death all the more heartbreaking. It also gives viewers a better understanding as to why Quill lost his temper when he and his fellow heroes had Thanos on the ropes. (Though I still don’t think fans are going to forgive him for that careless move.) But within the MCU and in real life, everything seems to have turned out just the way it was supposed to for him and Gamora as well as the rest of the Guardians.
The two former lovers may not have ended up together by the end of Vol. 3, but they do have a mutual respect for one another. Kudos to James Gunn for sticking the landing there and for remaining flexible and advocating for his character’s story when needed.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now playing in theaters, and you can check out CinemaBlend’s schedule of 2023 new movie releases for details on other films hitting the big screen this year. You can also stream past MCU movies using a Disney+ subscription.