After James Gunn teased a far bleaker final film in his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and some pretty foreboding trailers, fans were preparing themselves to see at least one or two beloved characters killed off in the movie.
While Vol. 3 was an emotional viewing experience in many ways, it ended up keeping its crew of intergalactic A-holes alive and in one piece... even if most of them did go their separate ways after defeating the High Evolutionary.
Another big surprise was Gamora - who wasn't the character we knew from the first two movies, but an alternate timeline Variant - choosing to leave the Guardians and return to her Ravager family after bonding with Peter Quill and the others.
While speaking to THR about the film, Zoe Saldaña admitted that she did initially envision a different fate for the Deadliest Woman in the Galaxy.
"It was a bittersweet decision, obviously. I wanted to know that in the final chapter, Gamora stays on and finds a way to become a Guardian again. But this felt like the right way to end things for her, because of what she had been through. At the end of the day, any multiverse that she would’ve come from, she was still going to have the same experience with Thanos [Josh Brolin], and she was still gonna have the same guilt and the same trauma. So she finally found solace with the Ravagers, and she felt more open than she had ever been."
As Gamora bids farewell to Star-Lord, she whispers, "I bet we were fun," finally acknowledging their connection.
"I think the whole thing with Peter bothered her, because even though she had no recollection of who he was, she had a sense that it must have been special. And I appreciated that takeaway because it kind of gave us the hope that if the Guardians seek help again from the Ravagers, maybe Gamora and Peter will find a way back into each other’s lives, even if it’s just as friends."
Would you have preferred to see Gamora remain on Knowhere with her Nebula, or maybe even accompany Quill to Earth?
"In Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 our beloved band of misfits are settling into life on Knowhere. But it isn’t long before their lives are upended by the echoes of Rocket’s turbulent past." "Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him on a dangerous mission to save Rocket’s life—a mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them."
Gunn writes and directs Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, featuring Vin Diesel as Groot, Bradley Cooper as Rocket, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, and Maria Bakalova. Kevin Feige is the producer and Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Nikolas Korda, Simon Hatt, and Sara Smith serve as executive producers.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now available on Digital platforms, and is coming to Disney+ on August 2.