Why Doesn’t Gamora Remember Star-Lord? Explained

Fans were hoping that the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 would smooth out all the problems that exist between Gamora and Star-Lord and that the two would end up together after she finally re-joins the Guardians of the Galaxy team. However, something completely opposite happened as Gamora and Star-Lord parted ways before the team ultimately disbanded and reformed again under the leadership of Rocket Racoon. At the core of Star-Lord’s and Gamora’s conflict stands the fact that she doesn’t remember him any longer after the events of Avengers: Infinity War, and many fans are asking, why doesn’t Gamora remember Star-Lord? 

Gamora doesn’t remember Star-Lord because she is not the same Gamora that died during the events of Avengers: Infinity War. The version of Gamora that we met in the first Guardian of the Galaxy installment is dead, and so her memories and experiences died with her. The Gamora that we met during the events of Avengers: Endgame is a different younger version of Gamora that never met Peter Quill and never fell in love with him, and it’s impossible for her to have memories of the events of something that never transpired in her timeline. 

It’s not that Gamora doesn’t remember Star-Lord, it’s that she never met him in the first place as far as she is concerned, but that’s time traveling for you. If you’re still not clear about what exactly happened and what are the two versions of Gamora that we keep mentioning, stay with us and keep reading! 

There are two different versions of Gamora in the MCU 

Much of the confusion in this Gamora situation stems from the fact that there are two different versions of Gamora in the MCU. They are biologically identical. They share the same background; both are Thanos’ adoptive daughters, and their life and memories are identical up to a certain point. 

The first version of Gamora, the one we met in the first GotG movie, was killed in the prime timeline by Thanos when he used her as a sacrifice to obtain the Soul Stone on Vormir. This Gamora had all her life experiences with Star-Lord and the Guardians of the Galaxy; those experiences shaped her and have caused major character growth since the first movie. 

It was this version of Gamora that loved Peter Quill. Sadly, this Gamora died and couldn’t be resurrected when the Avengers reversed the Snap since she died under different circumstances. Only deaths caused by Thanos’ Snap could be reversed. Deaths that occurred through other means stayed as they were. This was likewise the reason why Black Widow never returned and stayed dead. 

The second version of Gamora in the MCU appeared during Avengers: Endgame. This is not resurrected Gamora, as she appeared after Avengers went on Time Heist to gather the Infinity Stones and reverse the Snap.

This version of Gamora can be seen as a time traveler as she was plucked off from her original timeline and forwarded several years into the future, meaning that she never got to experience a few years-worth of old Gamora’s experiences, meaning that she is a completely different version of Gamora. Once you know the distinction between those two versions, things become much clearer.

New Gamora never met Peter Quill, and he is a complete stranger to her 

New Gamora was plucked from her original timeline just as she was about to meet Peter Quill, but she never had that opportunity. She never met him, she never joined Guardians of the Galaxy, and she never fell in love with him. This is why she reacts to him as a complete stranger because she can’t remember the things that never happened to her. 

This led to a chain of frustrating events with Peter Quill being hurt that Gamora “doesn’t remember him” and Gamora being angry that everyone insists that she is “their Gamora” when she never even met them, except for Nebula, with who she was familiar already because she was her sister in the alternate timeline as well. 

So it’s not that Gamora magically forgot everything about Peter Quill. She never had those memories in the first place. She is simply a time traveler who never got to experience “the rest of the story,” which made the old version of Gamora who she was.

This led to the creation of a completely different and unique Gamora with her own set of memories and experiences, forming a new personality according to the new rules set before her. 

Will Gamora eventually remember Star-Lord and the Guardians? 

Gamora will most likely never “regain” her memories, and the reason for this is simple. Gamora is not suffering from some strange “cosmic amnesia” case and can’t have memories of things that never transpired. If the new Gamora remained in her own timeline, maybe things would play out just like they did with the old Gamora, but since she was cut off, she can’t experience everything the old Gamora did. 

Fans were hoping that Gamora and Star-Lord would eventually end up together in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but the last installment in the franchise never aimed to head that way. Instead, things played out the way they were meant to play out, with both Gamora and Star-Lord making peace with their pasts and future. 

Star-Lord realized that “his” Gamora was dead, and the new Gamora would never be who he needed her to be. Gamora, in turn, realized why Star-Lord had such a hard time realizing that she was a stranger, and she concluded that they were probably a fun couple in this timeline, but she needed to live her own life, far away from the shadows of the different versions of her. 

Ultimately both Gamora and Star-Lord departed the team, with Star-Lord returning to Earth to be with his grandfather and Gamora returning to her new family, the Ravagers.