Guardians Of The Galaxy: A Timeline Of Gamora And Star-Lord's Relationship In The MCU Movies

Warning: SPOILERS are ahead for multiple Marvel movies, including Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. 

Well... it looks like it's the end of the line for the bunch of a-holes who unexpectedly became the superheroes known as the Guardians of the Galaxy and seriously warmed our hearts along the way. After Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, had us sobbing over the team of unexpected superheroes we need to reflect back on one core relationship among the team who’s really been through it across nearly a decade of Marvel movies: Gamora and Star-Lord. Let’s take some time to journey down memory lane with these two, because we've really been rooting for them over the years. Things didn’t shake out how we expected with them, but across the Marvel movies in order, it's certainly been one for the ages, we’ll continue to look back on and think about. And given the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 end credits, perhaps the book between them isn’t completely closed? Let’s get into it. 

Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, is a Celestial-Human hybrid who is abducted as a child from Earth and spends his childhood among the Yondu Ravager Clan before building a reputation as an intergalactic outlaw. Gamora on the other hand is an adopted daughter of Thanos after the major MCU villain killed off half her race. When these two met in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, both their lives changed forever. Here’s the full timeline of Gamora and Star-Lord’s relationship from their first appearances to Vol. 3. 

Star-Lord And Gamora Meet On Xandar 

Star-Lord and Gamora meet early on in Guardians of the Galaxy when Gamora is on a mission to steal the orb from him along with Bradley Cooper’s Rocket the Raccoon and Vin Diesel’s Groot pulling for it at the same time as well. When Peter meets Gamora, he’s clearly distracted enough by the daughter of Thanos for her to catch him off guard and take the powerful object (which we later learn is holding one of the Infinity Stones) before the pair get into a full-on fight in the middle of the bustling alien city. It’s not long before Star-Lord, Gamora, Rocket and Groot all find themselves imprisoned at the same time. 

Star-Lord And Gamora Break Out Of Jail Together 

But, no maximum security prison could hold the future Guardians of the Galaxy. When they find themselves in prison, they meet David Bautista’s Drax the Destroyer, who has a personal vendetta against Ronan the Accuser, who is forging an alliance with Thanos in the first Guardians movie. After Gamora convinces Drax that she is his only hope to get his revenge, he joins their plan to break out of the prison. It’s then when Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot board the Milano together for the first time and go on their first mission together. 

The Romantic Walkman Moment 

During the mission, Star-Lord attempts to romance Gamora by showing her the music on his precious walkman and shares a dance with her. He tells her about a man named “Kevin Bacon”, thus schooling her on human culture before taking her hand and attempting to kiss her. Gamora looks to be entranced by Peter Quill for a few minutes, but the moment doesn’t last long as she puts a stop to Star-Lord’s “pelvic sorcery,” as she puts it. It’s a cute moment in Gamora and Star-Lord’s relationship that provides a glint of their budding romance. 

Star-Lord And Gamora Save The Galaxy And Officially Become A Team 

At the end of Guardians of the Galaxy, it’s not only Star-Lord and Gamora that bond, but also Rocket, Groot and Drax. They become somewhat of a misfit family who successfully stop Ronan the Accuser from destroying the planet of Xandar and officially making them the Guardians of the Galaxy. Following their heroic acts, their criminal records are expunged and look like they are ready to stick together as a team as they fly off into the proverbial sunset at the end of the first movie. 

Gamora Convinces Star-Lord To Get To Know His Father

Marvel fans may have caught up with the team three years later for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, but the next story itself took place a few months after the events of the first movie. The sequel began with the Guardians getting themselves into new trouble while attempting to save Gamora’s adoptive sister, Karen Gillan’s Nebula, who we'd call a part of the team. But, the crux of the story really revolves around Quill’s father, Kurt Russell’s Ego getting back in touch with his son. Star-Lord is prone not to trust him, but it’s Gamora who suggests he should see his father through and if he “ends up being evil, she’ll kill him.” 

It’s a sweet moment between the pair and shows that Gamora really truly cares about Peter being happy despite the immense dangers involved. And yes, Ego does end up being evil, but hey, they kill him and Star-Lord realizes that even though Ego was his biological dad, Yondu was his real dad all along. 

Star-Lord Confronts His Feelings For Gamora Over A Dance

About halfway through Vol. 2, Star-Lord and Gamora find themselves in another sweet dance moment where Peter ends up confronting his growing feelings for Gamora to her. He calls it an “unspoken thing” between them. Gamora ignores the feelings conversation to instead talk about the shadiness of Ego’s home planet prior to them learning Ego's true intentions. At the time of the conversation, it angers Star-Lord. As the movie progresses and they find themselves in more life-threatening situations, they forget their little fight and Gamora affirms their “unspoken thing” at the end of Vol. 2. That plus they gain a new member in Pom Klementieff's Mantis. 

Gamora Asks Peter To Kill Her If Thanos Gets To Her (He Doesn’t) 

Here's where things take a super dark turn. Gamora and Star-Lord’s story picks up during Avengers: Infinity War when Thanos is carrying out his horrible plan to wipe out half of the universe by collecting the six Infinity Stones and his Infinity Gauntlet. Just ahead of the pair coming face-to-face with Thanos, Gamora asks if Thanos gets to her that Star-Lord can do her a favor and kill her -- in order to keep Thanos from getting information from her about one of the stones. Not long after, Thanos arrives and Peter is faced with keeping his promise, which he does, but when he pulls the trigger, Thanos ensures that only bubbles come out of the gun. In turn, Thanos takes Gamora to Vormir to help carry out his mission. 

Thanos Kills Gamora On Vormir 

We then learn that Gamora is a key part of Thanos’ evil plans, because in order to retrieve the Soul Stone, he has to sacrifice someone he loves, and his adopted daughter is just about the only person for whom he’s felt that emotion. In her final moments, Gamora didn't believe there was anyone her father loved, but tragically, she was wrong. Thanos sent Gamora over the cliff and secured the Soul stone in exchange. 

Peter Quill Ruins A Big Mission Against Thanos Upon Learning Of Her Death 

That brings us to perhaps the most controversial Star-Lord moment we’ve seen yet. After losing Gamora to Thanos, Star-Lord and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy crew basically join the Avengers in an effort to stop the big purple baddie. During one important plan that involves Mantis, Spider-Man and Iron-Man, Star-Lord flubs the whole thing up when he learns that Gamora was killed by Thanos’ hand. Caught up in his intense emotions, he allows for Thanos to get away, and therein wipe the lives of half the universe. His love for Gamora was too strong for him to focus on a world-ending mission. 

Gamora From The Past Is Brought Into The Current Timeline In Endgame 

During the cliffhanger Avengers: Infinity War ending, Thanos is victorious and half of the universe turns to dust, including Star-Lord and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy (with the exception of Nebula). In Avengers: Endgame the ultimate superhero team comes together to bring everyone back. To do so, the heroes use time travel to retrieve the Infinity Stones needed to reverse Thanos’ dark deed. During the time travel of it all, Gamora from 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy -- before she even met Peter Quill -- is brought into the current timeline with Thanos’ army. Nebula reunites with her sister and convinces her to betray Thanos ahead of the Avengers beating out her adoptive father and everyone coming back for that epic final battle sequence. 

Peter (Briefly) Reunites With Gamora During The Final Thanos Battle 

It’s during that final battle where Star-Lord comes across Gamora and his heart skips a beat seeing that she is no longer dead. He soon finds out that she has no memory of him when she greets him about the same way they met back on Vormir, with a kick in the balls. While Peter lay writhing in pain, Gamora asks Nebula is the one she was talking about, which she confirms. Apparently Nebula caught her up a bit about her life in the main timeline, but Gamora seems less than impressed with Star-Lord. 

It wasn’t really explained what happened to Gamora after this scene, but in a deleted scene that was later released, it shows Gamora leaving the battlefield as the Avengers all take a knee for Iron Man, who dies in battle saving the universe. 

Gamora And Star-Lord Go One Final Guardians Mission

Between the events of Avengers: Endgame and the next (and perhaps final) update for Gamora and Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was a period of five years, if you can believe it! In the trilogy closer, Gamora from an alternate timeline, who never met and became a team with the other Guardians, has joined the Ravagers whilst Peter Quill frequently finds himself on drinking benders to wallow in the sadness of losing the woman he loved. However, when Rocket is taken at the top of Vol. 3, Nebula asks Gamora to help the Guardians out and she involuntarily ends up on the mission. It proves awkward for Peter Quill especially who at one point calls her “a total dick” for being literally a different person. 

While many fans certainly thought Peter Quill might be victorious in convincing Gamora to love him like she did in the first movie, that proves not to be the case in Vol. 3. While there’s a few moments that point to a glimmer of hope, ultimately the reality of the situation is that Peter lost his Gamora to Thanos and Vormir. It does make sense when you think about it, because he would be literally replacing his Gamora with a different version if things went differently. 

Gamora, Star-Lord And Many Of The Guardians Go Their Separate Ways

The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ending saw nearly all of the Guardians breaking up  to do their own thing. Peter Quill decided to finally venture back to Earth to find his grandfather and make up for lost time. Gamora on the other hand looks content to have found her family among the Ravagers. Nebula, Drax, Rocket and Groot stay back at their headquarters to take care of a host of children and animals they freed from the grips of the High Evolutionary, while Mantis decides she needs to explore the galaxy on her own terms for the first time in her life. 

Is There Still A Chance For Gamora And Star-Lord?

So, is that the end?? Well, given this franchise chiefly was James Gunn’s passion project and the filmmaker is now heading plans for the DC Universe, we imagine so. Vol. 3 offers a really sweet conclusion for each of the characters. Zoe Saldana has shared that she “wouldn’t be upset” if she never had to get in that green makeup as Gamora again, given the hours of prep time she had to go through. During the end credit sequence for Vol. 3, it was teased that Star-Lord would return, but given Saldana’s comments, we have to wonder if Gamora will be part of that equation ever again, or if this relationship is officially over. 

Either way, it’s been a fun ride getting to know these Marvel characters over the years. We’ll keep this updated if more comes from it in the future.