QuickBlog

We’re a week away from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and hopefully the MCU’s redemption arc from this moment forth. In light of that, Zoe Saldana, who has portrayed the Zehoberei assassin Gamora since 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, announced that Vol. 3 would be her final outing as the character. In an interview with Total Film, Saldana touched on her departure, voicing that she felt it was time to “step down” and find “the next generation of actors” to replace her. After her success with James Cameron’s Avatar and its sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, there’s no slowing her down as the 44-year-old actress lands one groundbreaking role after another.

Saldana has already signed on for Avatar 3 to complete the trilogy, though much sooner than that, she’ll be front and center in the third installment and conclusion of James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy series. Marvel has yet to make clear whether it intends to retire Gamora from live-action following the latter’s release, though should it decide to pass the torch to a new actor, there are some candidates worth considering…

Eiza González

Perhaps a more obscure choice, Mexican actress Eiza González might not be as instantly recognizable as her competitors, but she’s certainly making waves in the industry one day at a time. After debuting as an actress in telenovelas, González got her breakout role in the Nickelodeon teen drama Sueña conmigo, beginning her rise to fame. In addition, she’ll be familiar to some for her roles as Santanico Pandemonium in From Dusk till Dawn: The Series, Monica “Darling” Castello in Baby Driver, and Nyssiana in Alita: Battle Angel. In 2024, she’s due to star in Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare alongside Superman himself, Henry Cavill.

Let’s not forget her appearances in Gozilla vs. Kong and Hobbs & Shaw. She’s certainly a floater and a woman of many talents. While the MCU might not be on her list of priorities right now, someone as gifted and eager as González would no doubt jump at the chance to tackle Gamora, even if for a minor role as a one-shot variant in some Avengers film later down the line. There’s endless possibilities, what with the multiverse expanding with every new installment, so we see no reason as to why she couldn’t join in on the fun.

Olivia Wilde

There isn’t a lot that Olivia Wilde can’t do, so Gamora would be another notch in her belt, so to speak. In fact, she was one of Marvel’s top candidates for the role, but when it was offered to her, she turned it down. Wilde told The Guardian that “people thought I could only play the badass so I’d always get those roles. It just doesn’t feel very human. I got cast as a computer program in Tron: Legacy and an alien in Cowboys and Aliens. I was, like, ‘There’s something wrong here …'” The likelihood is that Wilde was burnt out from playing such similar roles, so taking on another dramatic sci-fi role just wasn’t appealing to her. Don’t worry, though, she’s still in talks to direct a Marvel project at the very least.

Besides the aforementioned Tron series and Cowboys and Aliens, you might recognize Wilde from her more recent roles, including Lois Lane in DC League of Super-Pets, Bunny in Don’t Worry Darling or her cameo as Ina Conrad in Babylon. If she turned down Gamora all those years ago, there’s a strong chance that she won’t be jumping at the opportunity to replace Saldana, but who knows? A lot can change in that time and she hasn’t restricted herself to otherworldly creature roles lately, so there might be a reignited interest in pursuing a character as well-known as Gamora.

Rosario Dawson

If Zoe Saldana had a living twin who also happens to be an actress, she’d be Rosario Dawson — hands down. Star Wars fans will know her as Ahsoka, a beloved character who’s about to get her own solo series following the conclusion of The Mandalorian‘s third season. Marvel fanatics, however, won’t be as familiar with Dawson as an extraterrestrial as much as a friendly neighborhood nurse and companion to The Defenders, specifically Daredevil and Luke Cage. Of course, we’re talking about none other than Claire Temple, who’s made a name for herself in the Marvel Netflix universe — the “MNU,” if you will. Outside of the insanely popular franchises, Dawson has appeared in Men in Black II, Sin City, Unstoppable and Zombieland: Double Tap.

Although she wasn’t particularly famous at the time, few might be shocked to learn that Dawson did actually audition to play Gamora during the film’s early stages of development, but as we discovered, Saldana snagged the role instead. Aside from looking exactly like Saldana, Dawson has the acting chops to support her endeavor as the future Gamora, if she so chooses. If Marvel are looking to simply recast, Dawson is a shoo-in, but if it’s after a variant of Gamora, the likeness might work against Dawson should she audition again.

Amanda Seyfried

Mean Girls star Amanda Seyfried is the youngest contender on the list (excluding honorable mentions) and actually another actress who turned down the role of Gamora initially. At the time of Guardians of the Galaxy‘s production, Seyfried was convinced that it would be a critical and commercial flop; she told FandomWire that “no one would be interested in watching a movie about “a talking tree and a raccoon.” Seyfried elaborated by saying “the script was great, it was all based on not wanting to be ‘that guy.’” Jokes on her, it seems. Guardians of the Galaxy would go on to surpass every other comic book movie released in 2014, and was only beaten by Transformers: Age of Extinction in earnings. It also spawned two more movies to prove how immensely popular the trilogy had become and now stands as Marvel’s last hope to revive a universe slowly dying from lackluster sequels.

Admittedly, Seyfried is more of a drama actress than sci-fi, but there’s no harm in dabbling. She’s most known for her role as Sophie, Donna’s daughter, in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, as well as Anita in Jennifer’s Body, Sylvia in In Time, and Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout. We’ll be the first to admit that Seyfried is talented and can certainly hold a candle to fellow frontrunners in the acting industry, such as Megan Fox, so she’d fit quite nicely with the likes of Chris Pratt and Dave Bautista. Right now, though, Seyfried is in talks to be the next Sue Storm, so we’ll see where that leads.

Lesley-Ann Brandt

Another Saldana look-a-like, though not as significant as Dawson, South African actress Lesley-Ann Brandt hasn’t been overly active in the acting industry since her performance as Mazikeen in Lucifer, alongside Tom Ellis. That role certainly elevated her status within Hollywood, but she hasn’t been pursuing any bigger parts ever since. Perhaps a shot at Gamora is precisely what Brandt needs to further her career. Although Lucifer will be her most recognizable role, Brandt also briefly appeared in Fox’s Gotham as Larissa Diaz / Copperhead, Single Ladies as Naomi Cox, and Heartlock as Tara Sharpe.

She’s been featured in many fancasts as Gamora, so it only takes a brief Google search to find Brandt edited in all her green-skinned glory. We won’t lie, she might be a little too incognito for Marvel’s taste, especially as it tends to pursue only the biggest talent, but if the executives are looking for a wild card and willing to put all their eggs in one basket, maybe they’d be prepared to give Brandt a shot. After all, she wowed audiences on Lucifer, so her reputation proceeds her. If not Gamora, she might still have a shot at Mystique.

Honorable Mentions

As promised, here are our alternative choices. Obviously, Jenna Ortega is a given. She’s one of Hollywood’s biggest up-and-coming actresses right now, plus she’s excelled as mean-spirited characters (we’re looking at you, Wednesday Addams), so a younger Gamora seems like a perfect fit. As for Ariana Greenblatt — for those who didn’t know — she actually portrayed young Gamora in Avengers: Infinity War, so that casting speaks for itself.

As for an adult/variant Gamora, both Zazie Beetz and Zoë Kravitz are familiar with the superhero genre as Domino in Deadpool and Catwoman in The Batman, respectively. Although it’s sometimes frowned upon to recycle actors, Beetz nailed Domino and technically Deadpool isn’t part of the MCU… yet. As for Kravitz, Catwoman and Gamora aren’t so far-removed from one another, so that would be a seamless transition.

• Jenna Ortega (Young Gamora)
• Ariana Greenblatt (Young Gamora)
• Zazie Beetz (Adult/Variant Gamora)
• Zoë Kravitz (Adult/Variant Gamora)

We never thought we’d see the day where Zoe Sandaña would need to be replaced, but as we enter a new era, sometimes the institutional ethos of “out with the old and in with the new” isn’t a bad thing.

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