Zoe Saldaña says ending Guardians of the Galaxy franchise would be ‘huge loss for Marvel’

Zoe Saldaña has said it would be a “huge loss for Marvel” if they didn’t find a way to bring back the Guardians of the Galaxy, even though she’s done playing Gamora.

Saldaña, who played the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) character from 2014 to 2023, suggested another star should be cast in the role, stating: “I think that she is gone for good for me, but I don’t think Gamora has gone for good.”

The Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, directed by James Gunn, ended with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, which was released in May 2023.

“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 on The Playlist’s podcast, titled Discourse.

Gunn has previously said he almost killed off Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 before he was talked out of it by Marvel Studio president Kevin Feige and executive producer Louis D’Esposito.

In an interview with ComicBook.com last year, Gunn said: “I knew from the beginning Zoe only wanted to play the character for so many years, and she’s been very honest saying that she’s done [after this]. And so I was going to have her die.”

Other Marvel films Saldaña appeared in include Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 ended with the creation of a new “Guardians” team, including Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel), and Adam Warlock (Will Poulter).

A new film hasn’t been announced starring this group, but Saldaña has expressed her interest in the franchise returning.

“I would be the first one in the first row to sort of celebrate when the Guardians of the Galaxy come back.”

Saldaña will reprise the role of Neytiri in James Cameron’s Avatar sequels, and will hopefully return as Uhura in the fourth Star Trekfilm, which is being written by The Flight Attendant creator Steve Yockey after a series of delays.

The film is set to star Chris Pine as James T Kirk, Karl Urban as Dr Leonard “Bones” McCoy, John Cho as Hikaru Sulu, Zachary Quinto as Spock, and Simon Pegg as Montgomery “Scotty” Scott.

Saldaña told the Discourse podcast “I still have hope. I had a wonderful experience through and through.”

Saldaña is currently promoting her upcoming thriller, The Absence of Eden, directed by her husband Marco Perego and co-starring Garrett Hedlund and Adria Arjona.