Zoe Saldana's MCU character Gamora was originally supposed to die in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige talked writer-director James Gunn out of it.

　　Speaking to ComicBook.com, Gunn said he knew from the onset of the Guardians series that Saldana only wanted to play Gamora "for so many years." So his plan was to kill Gamora in 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

　　"I thought she was the one that was going to sacrifice herself, and Quill was going to learn about himself as opposed to in the second movie, and I thought different of it. I was kind of talked out of it by Kevin [Feige] and [Marvel producer Lou D'Esposito], and then it just didn't work that well," Gunn explained. "It didn't feel right, it felt much more right to go where we go in that movie. That seemed what was correct for the story."

　　Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 did, however, include a major character's death, with Yondu (Michael Rooker) meeting his maker. Gunn said he "felt bad" about killing Yondu but that had to happen based on "where the story had naturally progressed to."

　　Gamora died in Avengers: Infinity War. Her father, Thanos (Josh Brolin) tossed her off a cliff to obtain the Soul Stone. The version of Gamora in Vol. 3, however, is one that never fell in love with Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) and does not recall her previous adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy.

　　Saldana comes back to play Gamora one more time in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which releases in theaters on May 5. Saldana said she expects the Guardians series to continue, but she won't be part of it. "I don't think this is the end for the Guardians. It is the end for me, for Gamora," she said.

　　Vol. 3 is expected to fall short of Vol. 2 at the box office, a downturn that some believe is part of a growing "indifference" to MCU Phase 5.