Zoe Saldana Will Play Gamora In Guardians Of The Galaxy
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Marvel’s super-hero space opera Guardians of the Galaxy continues to come together, with THR confirming that Star Trek’s Zoe Saldana is in talks to play the female lead role of Gamora. Assuming they hammer out a deal, she’ll join Zero Dark Thirty/Parks & Recreation’s Chris Pratt as Star-Lord and Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer.
Not to be confused with the giant Japanese turtle monster, Gamora is a green-skinned alien created by Jim Starlin in 1975. The last of her race, Gamora is has incredible strength and a Wolverine-style healing factor. If the rumors that the film’s villain will be Thanos prove true, Gamora will definitely have a personal stake in the story: in the comics she was Thanos’ adopted daughter. It’s unclear if/how that element of her backstory will be used in the movie. It certainly has narrative potential, and I could very easily see her begin the movie as a villain, only to switch sides and join the Guardians later. You can see Gamora in the concept art below, standing at the far right.
Guardians will add yet another notch to Saldana’s +1 Belt of Geek Cred. She’s perhaps best known for playing Uhura in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek films, but she also appeared (via motion capture) as Neytiri in James Cameron’s Avatar. Guardians won’t be her first comic book role either: she played Aisha in 2010’s The Losers, based on the Vertigo comic series created by Andy Diggle.
Guardians of the Galaxy is set to hit theaters on August 1, 2014. Of the main cast of characters, only the treelike Groot and Rocket Raccoon remain to be cast.
