Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will premiere on May 5, 2023, and this year’s San Diego Comic-Con dropped several exciting reveals/announcements about it. One of the biggest reveals was that Chukwudi Iwuji, who had previously been cast in an undisclosed role, is portraying the High Evolutionary for the film. Meanwhile, SDCC also released exclusive first-look footage of the film that has not yet been released publicly. However, the footage was said to have given a first-look at Will Poulter’s Adam Warlock, which viewers seemed to approve of.
So far, the plot details of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 have been kept mostly under wraps. While the Guardians had a brief cameo in Thor: Love and Thunder, they departed hastily and didn’t drop many clues about their next adventure. However, from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, we know that Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki) created Warlock to destroy the Guardians once and for all. With Warlock confirmed to be appearing, viewers can anticipate the Guardians will be contending with him. Additionally, the film will also explore Rocket the Raccoon’s (Bradley Cooper) origins, which may be tied to the High Evolutionary.
However, the biggest question is—where is Gamora (Zoe Saldaña)? The Gamora of the main timeline was killed by her father, Thanos (Josh Brolin), in Avengers: Infinity War. Despite this, though, in Avengers: Endgame, a 2014 version of her character, from before she met the Guardians or was killed, time traveled to the present timeline and remains there. While we’ve known that there is a Gamora somewhere in the MCU timeline, we’ve had few hints of where she is or what direction her story will take—until now.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 footage, explained
The Ravagers have been featured prominently in the Guardians of the Galaxy series and are an interstellar group of thieves, smugglers, mercenaries, bounty hunters, and other criminals, previously led by Yondu (Michael Rooker). In the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 footage, the Guardians are seen preparing to meet with the Ravagers after Nuebla (Karen Gillan) scheduled them to do so. However, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is shocked to find that the meeting is with Gamora, who has been confirmed to be the leader of the Ravagers.
Sadly, it becomes clear that this Gamora has no recollection of her past with Quill or the Guardians. Quill still futilely attempts to reconnect with her and tells her, “You were everything to me.” We are once more reminded that this is not their Gamora, though, as she states, “That person wasn’t me.”
Why is Gamora with the Ravagers?
What we know about Gamora before she joined the Guardians, was that she was taken in by Thanos as a young girl and trained by him to be an assassin. However, she always resented him for destroying her childhood and, as an adult, set about trying to take down both Thanos and his ally, Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). Now, this is the stage Gamora would’ve been at when she was taken to the present day by Thanos.
She would’ve skipped over all the key years with the Guardians in which she developed into a full-fledged hero. Hence, it isn’t surprising that she’d find more like-minded people with the Ravagers than the Guardians. The Ravagers are criminals, but still have some sense of a moral code. In a sense, this reflects who Gamora was before she met the Guardians—an assassin who committed many misdeeds, but who stopped short of certain evils, like genocide. She certainly has never fought alongside heroes before, aside from defeating Thanos, so it isn’t surprising she’d choose to go with a team of criminals who are, at least, still a much lesser evil than her father.
Also, the Ravagers might be a form of protection for her. This Gamora hasn’t yet redeemed herself and may still be a target as a child of Thanos. Hence, surrounding herself with the Ravagers may provide her a level of protection that the Guardians couldn’t. Ultimately, protection, purpose, and Gamora’s former history and personality all seem to explain why she’d lean towards the Ravagers instead of the Guardians. As for whether she’ll ultimately become a Guardian, though, remains to be seen.
(featured image: Disney)
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