A little more than a year ahead of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's release, actor Zoe Saldana already has a new idea for a spinoff to the beloved film series.
In an interview with entertainment reporter Jake Hamilton, Saldana shared that she too wants more Gamora -- specifically an in-depth look at the ex-assassin's backstory as teased in Avengers: Infinity War.
"I feel like that taste made me incredibly curious to know what that planet was like, what her species was like because they were completely wiped out of existence," Saldana explained referencing a flashback in the 2018 film in which Thanos takes in a young Gamora after obliterating her home planet. "She carries such a big weight on herself, and to get know why and where that comes from was really great.”
Prior to Saldana's pitch, Marvel fans first caught a glimpse of Gamora's backstory in the character's eponymous 2016 comic series. Featuring a few key moments from the character's adolescence, the series partially centers around Gamora's decision to distance herself from her father. "I’d always wondered what the pivot point was in Gamora’s adolescence when she made the decision to turn away from Thanos and toward being someone who defends lives instead of taking them," Gamora author Nicole Perlman told CBR ahead of the series' first installment.
"She had such a traumatic upbringing, not just from Thanos’s hand, but also the survivor’s guilt of being the only one to survive the Zen Whoberi genocide. She had every reason to grow into a force of darkness rather than a force for good," she continued.
Considering Gamora's upbringing, Perlman, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the first Guardians of the Galaxy film with James Gunn, said she found inspiration in pondering why the character decided to become a force for good. "I was drawn to creating a story that detailed what that catalyst was in her life, that helped her transcend her past and take the first step toward being an eventual Guardian of the Galaxy," she explained.
While it is unclear whether Guardians of the Galaxy 3 will delve into Gamora's early life, one thing is certain -- the film will stand out from its two predecessors, at least according to Saldana.
"I think it's going to be the best one yet," Saldana said of Guardians 3 last month. "We're having a blast, but then again, it's just not easy to shoot a Guardians movie. There's a lot of action. There's a lot of dust. There's a lot of makeup, endless hours of makeup, but the end result is so worth it."
Even with the complexity that goes into bringing the beloved MCU franchise to life, Saldana said she missed playing her iconic character even before production wrapped. "It's bittersweet; after all those years of complaining about that green makeup, I find myself already nostalgic about it," Saldana said of potentially leaving Gamora. "There's a lot of melancholy here, but also pride that we've achieved something great. James Gunn has written a beautiful story, that's making us emotional even as we shoot it."
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will hit theaters on May 23, 2023.
Source: YouTube