Zoe Saldaña was asked on an upcoming episode of The Playlist’s “Discourse” podcast if she was “done” playing Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe now that James Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy has ended. Gunn has moved on to DC, and some of Saldaña’s co-stars like Dave Bautista (Drax the Destroyer) have vowed that “Vol. 3” was their last “Guardians” movie.
“I mean, so far, I think that she is [gone for good] for me, but I don’t think Gamora has gone for good,” Saldaña answered, suggesting she is not interested in playing Gamora again at this time but certainly the character still exists within the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its sprawling multiverse.
“I would think it would be a huge loss for Marvel if they didn’t find a way to bring back the Guardians of the Galaxy,” Saldaña said. “It’s just such a fan-favorite group of misfits, you know? And then at the helm, they had a voice like James Gunn’s writing — which is just so marvelous for and very specific for this genre. And it’s so great for this genre as well. So, I would be the first one in the first row to sort of celebrate when the Guardians of the Galaxy come back.”
Saldaña played Gamora in three “Guardians” movies and other Marvel films, including “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.” Gunn ended “Vol. 3” with the creation of a new “Guardians” team that included the likes of Rocket Raccoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), Kraglin (Sean Gunn), Cosmo (voiced by Maria Bakalova) and Adam Warlock (Will Poulter). Marvel hasn’t announced a new “Guardians” film starring this group.
With one franchise closed for now, Saldaña has several others still chugging along. She’ll once again play Neytiri in James Cameron’s “Avatar” sequels, and Variety reported on March 27 that Paramount had hired “The Flight Attendant” creator Steve Yockey to write the script for a fourth “Star Trek” movie that would center on the crew that appeared in “Star Trek” (2009), “Stark Trek Into Darkness” (2013) and “Star Trek Beyond” (2016). That crew includes Saldaña as Uhura, Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy, Simon Pegg as Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, John Cho as Hikaru Sulu and more.
“I still have hope,” Saldaña told “The Discourse” podcast about making a fourth “Stark Trek” movie. “I had a wonderful experience through and through and through the three times that I was a part of that team. I know that they’re always trying to sort of aim to wrangle everybody together, but I also know that Paramount is working on a new sort of fresh take on ‘Star Trek,’ which I think is such a wonderful franchise that should live for a very long time, whether or not us as the original remake cast can come back. I don’t know, but I certainly hope so.”
Saldaña is currently making the press rounds in support of her new immigration drama “The Absence of Eden,” co-starring Garrett Hedlund and Adria Arjona and directed by Marco Perego.
