The death of Gamora is one of the most significant elements of both Avengers: Infinity War and the Guardians’ team. But according to James Gunn, he initially planned this in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, way before the events of the third Avengers movie. Gamora’s death in the second Guardians movie would have surely set a different path for the conclusion of the Infinity Saga.
Zoe Saldana recently revealed that the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 will be her last appearance in the MCU. It is already confirmed that the GotG threequel will be the last ride for the team and James Gunn made sure to make it a full-fledged emotional roller coaster.
What were James Gunn’s plans for Gamora’s death?
With the release date of the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy just a few days away, James Gunn is busy promoting his last Marvel venture. The end of the trilogy will not only feature the end of Gunn’s role in Marvel but also of many of our stars whom we are following since 2014.
One such name is Zoe Saldana who is going to make her last MCU appearance in Vol. 3. But in an interview with Comicbook.com, the DCU co-head opened up that the second Guardians movie was initially planned to bid farewell to Gamora and not Yondu. As per Gunn, he always knew that the Avatar actress only wanted to portray the role for a certain time. So he planned to use Gamora’s death as a device for Peter Quill’s character development.
“So things always change and you never know. But Gamora almost died in Vol. 2. I knew from the beginning Zoe only wanted to play the character for so many years, and she’s been very honest saying that she’s done [after this]. And so I was going to have her die. I thought she was the one that was going to sacrifice herself, and Quill was going to learn about himself as opposed to in the second movie, and I thought different of it.”
But James Gunn was seemingly stopped by Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito. He also admitted that the story didn’t work out well so he changed it. But it was also not easy for the filmmaker to kill Yondu because Michael Rooker was his good friend.
It is also to be noted that Gamora’s death before the events of the Infinity War would have also changed the storyline needed to flesh out the arc of the soul stone. So the news about Gunn’s initial plans has also raised several reactions from fans on Twitter.
The fans react to James Gunn’s initial plans
Gamora was killed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War to obtain the soul stone in Vormir. Following that, we got to watch an alternate version of the character in Avengers: Endgame who is also going to be seen in the upcoming part. As per the majority of the fandom, Gamora’s death in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 would have ruined the events of Infinity War.
Would've made getting the Soul Stone a lot more awkward
— #1 Over the Hedge stan (@Captain63857795) April 30, 2023
I'm glad he changed his mind; it was more emotionally impactful for Gamora to die in Infinity War as it made Thanos more sympathetic as he was willing to sacrifice everything for his destiny. It was possibly the highlight of his character arc.
— #MusicDefinesMe (@theR5archives) April 30, 2023
I think it was better that he didn't kill her, since in infinity war her father would be the main villain.
— 🇮🇹_Hot_Animated_Gamora❤️💙 (@Lorenzo74209291) April 30, 2023
I think it was a good idea to keep her death for Infinity War. It makes it more emotional especially since she was “adopted” by Thanos and he sacrificed her to get what he wanted
— Aiden (@fantastic580) April 30, 2023
good choice
— turc🌑🚀🪐®️ (@nowturc) May 1, 2023
They probably would have changed the arc to nebula instead. Or have a completely different way of obtaining the soul stone
— JPwendy🇮🇪 (@JPwendigo18) April 30, 2023
Now as the fan debate goes on, it will be interesting to watch how the final venture for the superheroine, as well as James Gunn, works out. As per the early reports, the movie is an emotional roller coaster and presents an amazing ending for our heroes. While some may make it, some may not but Gunn didn’t leave a chance to make his last MCU movie, a memorable one.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will hit theaters on May 5, 2023.
Source: Comicbook.com
