Does Gamora Die in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’?

After six years of waiting, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has finally landed in theaters worldwide. The long-awaited conclusion of James Gunn’s trilogy is gathering positive reviews from critics and fans. We are now finally allowed to talk freely about the movie’s plot and everything that happened in it. In this article, we’ll talk about Gamora, the character that Zoe Saldaña played in five MCU movies, and we’ll tell you if she died in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

The original MCU Gamora died in Avengers: Infinity War, but Zoe Saldaña returned in Avengers: Endgame and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 as the alternate Gamora who traveled from 2014 to 2023 in Avengers: Endgame. This alternate Gamora didn’t die in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 but didn’t rejoin the Guardians by the end of the movie either. In the end, she returned to Stakar Ogord and the other Ravagers, who took her in when she left Earth after the battle against Thanos.

Zoe Saldaña debuted as Gamora in the original Guardians of the Galaxy movie in 2014. Back then, fans unfamiliar with the source material would say she was depicted as some alien Black Widow. Gamora was also a daughter of Thanos, which eventually gave her a bigger role in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. After playing Gamora in five MCU movies, Zoe Saldaña announced that her MCU path is now completed.

Where was Gamora between Avengers: Endgame and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?

After debuting in the original Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Zoe Saldaña reprised the role of Gamora in 2017’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War. As the daughter of Thanos, she had an important role in Infinity War, considering she was the one who knew the location of the Soul Stone. When Thanos took her to Vormir, he was compelled to kill her to get the Soul Stone. Gamora’s death was a big shock for Guardians fans, although at first viewing of Infinity War, probably no one expected the movie to be filled with so many shocking scenes.

When Avengers: Infinity War was first released, it was known that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would eventually happen, but following Infinity War’s events, the question about Saldaña’s MCU future arose. And let’s not forget that during that time, Saldaña was also in the middle of the production of Avatar 2, which created some theories among fans that her MCU path had concluded with Infinity War. Thankfully, that was not the case since she reprised the role in Avengers: Endgame, but as Gamora from another timeline who time-jumped from 2014 to 2023, when Endgame takes place.

This new Gamora has never met other Guardians of the Galaxy prior to the events of Endgame, so after betraying Thanos with the help of the original Nebula, Gamora joined all of the universe’s biggest heroes in the final battle against Thanos and his forces. The movie’s deleted scene revealed that she quietly left the battlefield while other heroes were mourning the loss of Tony Stark.

Between Avengers: Endgame and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the team of Guardians returned twice; in Thor: Love and Thunder and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. However, Gamora wasn’t featured in any of these movies. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, we find that she left Earth after the battle against Thanos and eventually joined the Ravagers. Her path crossed with the Guardians again when Nebula called her to help them to break into the archive of the Orgosphere.

While Gamora spent the entire movie with the Guardians again, she didn’t join them fully as the original Gamora. However, she fought beside them against the High Evolutionary. Still, this alternate Gamora never became the original Gamora that Star-Lord once loved. In the end, Star-Lord and Gamora said their goodbyes as Star-Lord returned to Earth to find his grandfather while Gamora rejoined Stakar Ogord and the other Ravagers.

While the movie’s ending may seem like we could potentially see Zoe Saldaña as Gamora again, Saldaña confirmed her retirement from the MCU shortly before the release of Volume 3. The path of the original Gamora ended tragically on Vormir, while the alternate Gamora has found her new path with the Ravagers rather than with the Guardians. Do you like how James Gunn satisfyingly concluded her story, or maybe you expected that the alternate Gamora would eventually become what the original Gamora once was?

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now playing in theaters worldwide. Written and directed by James Gunn, the movie features an ensemble cast, including Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Sean Gunn, Chukwudi Iwuji, Will Poulter, Elizabeth Debicki, Maria Bakalova, and Sylvester Stallone. While it seems that the new team of Guardians will return in future MCU projects, there’s no telling if there will be Volume 4 with some new writer and director.