The presence of Zoe Saldaña’s Gamora has been a bit of a question mark ever since she was killed by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. While she did get a new lease on life when 2014-Gamora traveled to the present with the past-Thanos and ended up being the lone survivor of the complete decimation of the Titan’s tropes, her status amidst the Guardians is dicey at best. And it didn’t help that she was absent in Thor: Love and Thunder, as well as from the recent trailer of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.
So, will we be meeting Gamora in the upcoming special presentation?
Well, the answer isn’t that simple and hinges more on “maybe.” You see, the last we met the Guardians of the Galaxy, they were bidding farewell to the God of Thunder as they decided to divide their forces to address the multiple cries of help across the Universe. Even then, this eccentric roster of superheroes consisted of Star-Lord, Drax, Kraglin, Rocket, Nebula, Mantis, and Groot. Forget an appearance from the alternate Gamora, she wasn’t even mentioned in the film!
Then comes the recently released (*cough* first leaked) trailer of The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Once again, our beloved Guardian is missing, but at least she is mentioned. Apparently, she is “gone,” and that’s the reason why Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, is so sad. It isn’t hard to deduce the why here — she isn’t the Gamora who spent years being besties with perhaps the weirdest group of superheroes ever.
She has no memory of the bond the OG Gamora forged with them, which includes the latter’s budding love story with Peter. Judging by the savage kick-to-the-nuts he received from the alternate Gamora at the end of Endgame, this past version of the character is in no hurry to continue the life of her future self.
Now, the big question is whether she will be returning anytime in the holiday special. From the looks of the trailer, we know that the focus will be on making Peter happy, which leads to Drax and Mantis plotting to gift him his favorite star (i.e.: kidnapping the real-life Kevin Bacon. Throughout their Christmas shenanigans on Earth, Gamora is nowhere to be seen. Does that mean she will be retaining her MIA status for now? After all, James Gunn has also hinted that fans might not get to meet all the Guardians in the Disney Plus Special Presentation.
That’s where the “maybe” we mentioned earlier comes into play. Though her inclusion in the special’s cast hasn’t been formally announced either by the studio or by anyone associated with the film, an article by the official Marvel website, sharing Gunn’s post last year wherein he celebrated the beginning of GoTG Vol3’s production, does raise some hopes.
After detailing the contents of the post, the article mentions the cast of the film before specifying that all of them will be returning in the Holiday Special as well.
“Returning cast members for the latest Guardians of the Galaxy movie include Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, and Sean Gunn, who will next be seen in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, coming Holiday 2022!”
So, based on the trailer and this statement, should we expect to see Gamora in the special, perhaps in a cameo or in the post-credits scene that will set up her future presence in the MCU?
It is very much possible that we are reading too much into what could possibly be something written mistakenly. But we will take what we get at the moment, because if we don’t, it means our overdue meeting with Gamora has been pushed to the third Guardians film. As per the footage of the film shown at this year’s Comic-Con, Gamora will be seen leading the shady Ravagers. It remains to be seen whether she will ultimately join forces with the Guardians or if she has parted ways with them for good.
Hopefully — all fingers at We Got This Covered are firmly crossed — the upcoming special will shed some light on the mystery surrounding Gamora’s whereabouts even if she doesn’t appear in the film.
The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special, which is set to conclude MCU Phase Four, will be releasing on Disney Plus this Nov. 25.