Guardians of the Galaxy 3's Groot and Gamora Moment Is Sadder Than You Think

Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 spoilers follow.

Marvel fans will know that Zoe Saldaña’s character, Gamora, met a tragic end in Avengers: Infinity War at the hands of Thanos, ending his relationship with the Guardians and the family they had built together was devastated.

However, in the MCU’s multiverse twists, Gamora makes a return in the latest guardians of the galaxy film, although this time she is an older variant who has no memory of her relationship with Peter Quill or any of the team members.

In particular, Gamora’s original connection to Groot was heartwarming, but is tragically lost in the new episode as she now sees him as an outsider.

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This harrowing development plays out especially in one particular scene towards the end of Volume 3which director James Gunn revealed is particularly poignant in the film’s audio commentary (via comics).

“It’s a scene that I don’t think people necessarily understand. Groot – his mother is Gamora, to him, in his eyes. We saw Baby Groot, and how much Gamora loves him in 2nd volume, and how much he loves her. Like… it’s his mother. And so there’s a particular sadness here, where she doesn’t remember him.

“For me, that’s one of the saddest things in the whole movie, that your mom doesn’t know who you are. And it’s such a small moment when she suddenly realizes that.”

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Related: James Gunn Reveals Guardians of the Galaxy 3 cameo originally intended for Stan Lee

Speaking about the dramatic change in her character, Saldaña explained to digital spy the thrill she found in exploring a new “wild side”.

“There’s definitely a wild side to her. That Gamora loved, I wouldn’t say she loved violence, she loved living on the wild side and that’s something the old Gamora abhorred, she used to to despise her.

“The violence was something that caused her a lot of trauma, and every time she had to be violent, it didn’t make her proud of herself, so that was the difference in this episode. It was fun to to be in her shoes, but she’s pretty crazy so I don’t think she has anything in common with the old Gamora or with me, I must say.”

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 hits UK cinemas May 3 and US cinemas May 5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 1 And Volume 2 And Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special are streaming on Disney+.