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Zoe Saldaña isn’t the only Guardian of the Galaxy throwing in the towel. Her co-star Dave Bautista has vowed that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would be his last outing as Drax. But where does that leave the franchise? Marvel’s future hangs in the balance, particularly as the MCU has been dreadfully hit or miss lately. When asked on an upcoming episode of The Playlist’s “Discourse” podcast if she would ever return as Gamora, Saldaña had a pretty definitive answer.
“I mean, so far, I think that she is [gone for good] for me, but I don’t think Gamora has gone for good,” Saldaña stated. It seems as though Saldaña herself isn’t planning a reprisal, but that doesn’t mean the character of Gamora isn’t out there somewhere within the vast MCU.
Saldaña Might Be Out, But Gamora’s Still In
“I would think it would be a huge loss for Marvel if they didn’t find a way to bring back the Guardians of the Galaxy,” Saldaña said. “It’s just such a fan-favorite group of misfits, you know? And then at the helm, they had a voice like James Gunn’s writing — which is just so marvelous for and very specific for this genre. And it’s so great for this genre as well. So, I would be the first one in the first row to sort of celebrate when the Guardians of the Galaxy come back.”
Saldaña debuted as Gamora in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, then became a mainstay for the MCU for another decade. She would reprise her role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. As we well know, Gamora ‘dies’ in Avengers: Endgame at the hands of her adoptive father Thanos.
The version we see in Vol. 3 has been living with the Ravagers and has no affiliation with Thanos. When Tony Stark snapped away Thanos’ allegiances, Gamora had seen the errors of her ways and turned against her father, thereby nullifying her threat to the Avengers. She was not impacted by Tony’s intent to wipe out Thanos’ goons as a result.
But don’t feel bad for Saldaña. She might be stepping away from the MCU, but her career as a Na’vi-human hybrid still has limitless potential. After the success of James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, Saldaña signed on for at least two more films as Neytiri, the mate of protagonist Jake Sully. Avatar 3 is currently in post-production while the fourth is slated for a 2029 release.
A Fourth ‘Star Trek’ Movie Could Be in the Works
The 45-year-old also stars as Joe, the leader of the Lioness field program, in Paramount Plus’ spy-thriller series Special Ops: Lioness. Additionally, Variety reported on March 27 that Paramount had hired Steve Yockey, creator of The Flight Attendant, to write the script for a sequel to Star Trek Beyond, which would star Saldaña as Uhura, Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, Simon Pegg as Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, and John Cho as Hikaru Sulu.
“I still have hope,” Saldaña told “The Discourse” podcast about the possible fourth installment. “I had a wonderful experience through and through and through the three times that I was a part of that team. I know that they’re always trying to sort of aim to wrangle everybody together, but I also know that Paramount is working on a new sort of fresh take on ‘Star Trek,’ which I think is such a wonderful franchise that should live for a very long time, whether or not us as the original remake cast can come back. I don’t know, but I certainly hope so.”
Saldaña is currently promoting her latest film, The Absence of Eden, directed by her husband Marco Perego-Saldaña. The thriller, which originally debuted last year at the Taormina Film Fest in Italy, is scheduled for an April 12 release and also stars Garrett Hedlund, Adria Arjona, and Tom Waits.
