Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is set to break hearts and minds later next week. The third entry is planned to be a swan song for James Gunn’s vision of the franchise, with the director parting ways with Marvel to become the head of DC Studios. Many of the cast have voiced their plans of departure after the third film (such as Dave Bautista), and it now seems we can add Zoe Saldana to the list.
The Avatar actress has graced Marvel as the fierce and beautiful Gamora since the 2013 film by Marvel Studios.
In the Marvel franchise, Gamora is the adopted child of Thanos (the big baddie of The Infinity Saga). She was killed once before as a sacrifice for the Soul Stone–only to be brought back to life through a multiverse loophole.
With the character’s death being retconned relatively recently, one would think that Marvel has bigger plans for the character.
Well, this may not be the case after all.
Here is what Zoe Saldana says about the future of Gamora in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.
Zoe Saldana is done as Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hollywood Reporter did a deep dive into the turbulent history of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. The extended profile touches on everything from Chris Pratt being cast as Star-Lord while grieving his father’s death to James Gunn being fired over controversial tweets to his reinstatement as director a year or so later.
The same article briefly touches on Zoe Saldana and her future as the iconic Gamora. In the profile, when asked about her expectations as the character, Saldana says, “It is the end for me, for Gamora.”
The piece elaborates further, adding that Saldana did not expect to play the role beyond the original film. Chris Pratt explains that he and the industry expected the film to be Marvel’s first flop.
But with James Gunn, Bautista, and Saldana exiting the franchise, will there be more Guardians of the Galaxy movies?
Guardians of the Galaxy 4 might be a new team
While this might be the end for Star-Lord, Drax, Gamora, Groot, and Rocket, director James Gunn hinted at a possible new roster in the future.
In January 2022, speaking to Deadline’s Hero Nation podcast, Gunn sincerely clarified, “This is the end for us. This is the last time people will see this team of Guardians….”
This would be fitting, considering the membership had various forms in the comics. A comic called Asgardians of the Galaxy even features a Frog version of Thor.
Adding to this, Saldana even acknowledges, “I don’t think this is the end for the Guardians.”
Regardless, Saldana has plenty of projects in the pipeline, including a slew of Avatar sequels, a television show from Taylor Sheridan called Lioness, and a drama costarring Garrett Hedlund called The Absence of Eden.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will release everywhere on May 5.