I DON’T KNOW MY FATE
Gamora, just like her ‘Avengers’ fans, must wait for film — or Zoe she says!
If you’re an “Avengers” junkie lucky enough to run into Zoe Saldana, don’t expect her to spill any secrets about the latest installment.
She’s as much in the dark as anyone, she says.
With premiere-day tickets listed for thousands of dollars online, and frenzied fans scrambling for scraps of information, the actress who played Gamora in “Guardians of the Galaxy” won’t — or can’t — say whether she appears in “Avengers: Endgame.”
Even though Gamora doesn’t appear to have survived the last Avengers movie, Saldana hinted that she might make an appearance in the long-awaited “Endgame,” which hits theaters later this month.
But they’re just hints, not guarantees.
“These last two years we’ve been in such a daze shooting these two films for ‘Avengers,’” Saldana told the Daily News. “Nobody gets the right script because they gave it to misdirect you. We are, like, just gossiping in the trailer, kind of, like … ‘What’s the other actor coming from?’ ‘What do you mean, what did you shoot when you shot with so-andso?’ ‘Oh, crap, what’s going on?’ I honestly do not know Gamora’s destiny in the Marvel universe.”
The recent release of individual promotional posters, with the challenge to “Avenge the Fallen,” showed Gamora in gray scale – along with other victims from “Avengers: Infinity War” move. Survivors were featured in color posters.
Marvel fans are also eagerly awaiting “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” especially following James Gunn’s reinstatement as director in March.
Gunn helmed the franchise’s first two installments, but was dismissed from the project in 2018 after years-old inappropriate tweets came to light. The director said he “regretted” the jokes but backed down, taking Disney’s decision in stride. The “Guardians” cast, Saldana included, penned an open letter in support of Gunn.
Eventually, Disney caved to the input from cast and fans.
“I was very proud of Disney and all of the executives there,” Saldana said. “They’re sending a very strong message that, yes, accountability is important. It is a must. We’re not going to surrender that moving forward, but when the opportunity presents itself where it’s just the first step redemption must be the second step.”
Since Saldana’s 2014 debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU, the films have become more diverse. “Black Panther” was the first superhero film led by a predominantly black cast, and last month’s “Captain Marvel” was Marvel’s first female-led picture.
Finally taking cues from its fan base and the population at large, Marvel’s landscape is starting to reflect a broader section of the population, Saldana said.
“Diversity needs to happen with the gatekeepers first.,” said Saldana, who is Latina with Haitian roots. “We can’t tackle the problem from the bottom up. We’re never going to solve it. We’re only going to march and become activists, and we already are. We have to tackle it from the top.”
Meanwhile, Saldana, a mother of three young boys, is initiating her own effort to diversify the media.
Last year she co-founded the digital news platform BESE, which highlights positive Latino-focused stories.
Ahead of “Endgame,” Saldana stars in the animated film “Missing Link,” which comes out Friday.
She plays adventurer Adelina Fortnight, who helps Sir Lionel Frost, voiced by Hugh Jackman, reunite Zach Galifianakis’ missing link with his family.
Saldana describes her character is a “very, very relevant” force to be reckoned with.
“Missing Link” will be in theaters Friday; “Avengers: Endgame” hits theaters April 26.