The AVENGERS: ENDGAME Writers Talk About Bringing Gamora Back For James Gunn and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3
I really liked how Avengers: Endgame handled Zoe Saldana's Gamora when the creative team brought her back. It was very clever and it’s going to be interesting to see how the character is handled moving forward. The Gamora that Peter Quill formed a relationship with is dead, that relationship is gone. This Gamora from the past, who was thrust into the future has no idea who Quill is. It’s a fascinating yet tragic way to handle the story arc for these characters.
Endgame writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely made sure to bring Gamora back for James Gunn and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and they talked about this act of service in a recent interview with CB. McFeely said:
"It's us and [directors Anthony Russo and Joe Russo] and [Marvel Studios president] Kevin [Feige], but it's not like Kevin said, 'You know what, we had a meeting and we're going to have these three streaming services, so let's make sure... No, if anything, I don't know what all the streaming shows are, but it feels like they might come off of Endgame in some ways, but at no point did anybody say, 'That's what we should do, so therefore, sprinkle that in.'"
He goes on to use Gamora as an example of being influenced by a future film:
"There are the parts so that [Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 director James] Gunn could do whatever he needs to do that. That was just basically, you saw the behind the scenes stuff where they all kneel and she sort of boogies off set. If you let that in, you would've gone, 'Oh, she's alive and she's over there.' It's very vague now. I don't know what he's going to do with it.
Markus goes on to talk about the implications of the Gamora from 2014 running around in 2023, saying:
"I also liked that little dangling piece of time travel. The bow wasn't completely wrapped up and there was a little bit of an after effect from what they did. That doesn't necessarily affect this movie, and I don't know how it's going to affect the coming Guardians, but just leaving some strings, when you're tying up this many strings, it's satisfying to know that there are a few still still dangling."
McFeely goes on to say that the writers of the Marvel films never felt limited when they had to work in little story threads to connect to other movies.
"I've never felt hampered. Back when I was a high school English teacher, I remember when I taught Robert Frost, hopefully this is attributed to him. He didn't like blank verse. He liked rhyme scheme and such, because he likened it to playing tennis with a net. If you don't have a net, what the hell are you doing? I liken having the net, and the net is maybe this guy was frozen in ice and 70 years later he came out and lost all his family. Go. That kind of stuff. I enjoy taking some of the puzzle pieces and then making a new puzzle out of it."
I like that explanation of how he approaches these connecting story threads. It’ll certainly be interesting to see how Gunn picks up from where they left Gamora in Endgame. Peter Quill obviously wants to be with her, but he’s going to have to start all over again and who knows if she’ll even be interested in him. Their relationship could very well not work out!
How do you think Gamora’s story will be explored in Guardians Vol. 3?