It turns out that Avengers: Endgame's writers don't simply have a soft spot for deadly,
green alien warriors.
In a recent interview with CinemaBlend, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely revealed that they
had a specific reason for including the return of Gamora in their script: so the character
would be available for James Gunn to use in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.
3.
You'll recall that of the many, many shocking deaths to be featured in Avengers: Infinity
War, Gamora's was one that seemed as if it would be permanent.
She was forced to accompany her adoptive father Thanos to the planet Vormir, where anyone
brave and/or determined enough could acquire the Soul Stone... for a price.
Thanos was informed by the stone's protector that in order to possess the stone, one must
give up that which what they love — and it just so happened the only thing Thanos
loved in the universe, his daughter, was standing right next to him.
"I ignored my destiny once.
I cannot do that again.
Even… for you.”
Thanos hesitated for the briefest of moments before chucking Gamora to her doom from one
of Vormir's rocky cliffs, securing the stone and eventually succeeding in his mission to
snap half of all life in the universe out of existence.
Gamora, however like Loki and Heimdall, who met their ends in the film's brutal opening
scene didn't perish in the Snap, but was killed outright by Thanos.
Also, her death was the price for securing the Soul Stone... and as we learned when Black
Widow sacrificed herself so that Hawkeye could get his hands on that very stone during the
events of Avengers: Endgame, such a death cannot be reversed.
Markus and McFeely, however, found a way around that problem by using the Avengers' time-traveling
Endgame shenanigans to re-introduce the 2014 version of Gamora, one who had not yet met
up with the Guardians.
In the scribes' conversation with CinemaBlend, McFeely clarified that that particular plot
element was basically put in place so that Gunn could have his entire team on deck for
Guardians 3.
He explained:
"There are... parts [in Endgame that were written] so that Gunn could do whatever he
needs to do."
McFeely also referenced that poignant Endgame deleted scene that made it clear that 2014
Gamora wanted nothing further to do with anyone.
He said:
"You saw the behind the scenes stuff where they all kneel, and [Gamora] sort of boogies
off set.
If [the filmmakers had left that scene in], you would've gone, 'Oh, she's alive and she's
over there.'
It's very vague now.
I don't know what [Gunn is] going to do with it."
Well, neither do we, but that's never stopped us from speculating.
2014 Gamora pointedly does not take off with the Guardians at the conclusion of Endgame,
and really, why would she?
She has no idea who these people even are.
Where could she be heading off to?
Parts unknown, obviously... but with her adoptive father gone and her relationship with Peter
Quill never having been forged, there's really only one person in the galaxy she has any
kind of kinship with — her sister, Nebula, who is currently tagging along with the Guardians.
"You should fight one another for the honor of leadership."
"Sounds fair."
"Well I — that's not necessary."
"It's not."
Perhaps Gamora will seek out Nebula in an attempt to get some answers about what in
hell exactly happened with Thanos and the weird army of superpowered Terrans, or maybe
she'll head off into some forbidding corner of the galaxy and get herself into a jam — the
kind of jam that her friends would be compelled to help bail her out of, even if she doesn't
exactly know them yet.
It's worth noting that Gunn wasn't blindsided by Gamora's fate in Infinity War, but was
totally in the loop as to what Markus and McFeely intended to do with his character
— meaning that he's had plenty of time to mull over where to take her arc in Guardians
3.
It would absolutely shock us if the "deadliest woman in the galaxy" was anything but key
to the plot of the third Guardians movie — heck, perhaps she'll even somehow find a way to
rediscover the memories of her alternate timeline self, the one who died so that her "father"
might succeed in his terrible mission.
It would take some pretty hardcore narrative acrobatics, but if anyone is capable of pulling
those off without shattering our suspension of disbelief, it's Gunn.
In any event, the situation interestingly illustrates the kind of synergy necessary
for all of these amazing franchises to exist within the same shared universe, and — as
McFeely noted — the extent to which filmmakers must be content to simply pass the ball to
the next person to continue the story of any given character.
McFeely said:
"I... 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...
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
dangling."
For as long as the Marvel Cinematic Universe exists — that is to say, until the Earth
is actually swallowed up by Galactus — it seems likely that there will always be a few
strings left for the next filmmaker in line to tug on.
As far as this one goes, we're going to go ahead and guess that Guardians 3 will see
Quill remember his way to Gamora's heart: through the musical stylings of Elvin Bishop.
His melodies are pleasant.
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