WARNING: Spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War lie ahead.
Of all of the many (but not quite infinite number of) deaths that occurred during Infinity War, the loss of Zoe Saldana’s Gamora may have been the most tragic. That is to say, even Thanos shed some tears before, you know, he killed his favorite sort-of daughter in order to gather the Soul Stone. This was a shocking moment to fans of the deadliest woman in the whole galaxy, especially after folks were still reeling from Loki’s demise.
Saldana sat down with the LA Times to reveal how she learned about her (supposed) final moments in the MCU, and as it turns out, she took the news pretty hard but had plenty of advance warning from producers. Also, she believes that Gamora’s death was an integral part of understanding Thanos:
“I learned very early on. The producers called me and they told me. And of course there’s a shock to your system. I’m so grateful, this run has been amazing, but you’re so not even ready for that. But then once some of the things were discussed, I understood that it just makes sense. In order for you to understand the degree of evil that lies within the core of Thanos, you have to circle in on his own children. So I completely understood. I loved being a part of this unforgettable journey.”
Well, Saldana makes it sound like — unlike (probably) some of the other Infinity War characters — Gamora won’t be coming back from the dead. This runs contrary to her April 2017 hint that Gamora would indeed appear in Avengers 4, but perhaps that was all smoke and mirrors. Heck, it’s already clear that Marvel tossed a huge level of deception into Infinity War trailers in order to not spoil their audience, so it’s possible that Saldana was in on the plan to keep Gamora’s fate under wraps last year.
Saldana’s entire LA Times interview is worth reading, including a portion where she expresses appreciation for how Joe and Anthony Russo protected Gamora and Peter Quill’s relationship. That is to say, she enjoyed how audiences finally got to see their loving dynamic behind closed doors — as opposed to his goofy showmanship and her grumpy resolve in public — before Thanos did his evil thing. And before Star-Lord popped off and arguably destroyed the survival chances of half the universe.
(Via LA Times)