Gamora certainly has experienced quite the story arc in the MCU. For starters, when she debuted in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, she served under Ronan the Accuser who in turn was working for the Mad Titan Thanos. Gamora switched sides, however, and found a new family with the Guardians, and a love interest in their leader, Peter Quill.
In her third appearance in Avengers: Infinity War, Gamora met her untimely end when Thanos pushed her off a cliff for his own personal gains. It wasn't until Avengers: Endgame that a timeline-displaced Gamora from 2014 showed up in the present day to help fight in the film's final battle, only to disappear after that. With her whereabouts unknown, Quill was last seen using his ship's computer to run galaxy-wide searches for his lost love.
Of course, that search was interrupted by Thor Odinson coming aboard. The Asgardian God of Thunder has been traveling with the Guardians of the Galaxy since Endgame and will next be seen with them in his fourth solo film, Thor: Love and Thunder. It's presently unknown just how large a role the Guardians will play in the movie but it would seem that they part ways with Thor early on, just judging by the trailers.
But what makes them leave Thor behind? After all, with the deadly Gorr the God Butcher rolling up to cause trouble, Odinson and company are going to need all the help he can get to defeat the dangerous God Butcher.
Well, it could be for quite a few reasons and a lot of them potentially involve the search for Gamora.
First and foremost, it could be that Quill and the crew get new readings on just where Gamora is. As mentioned, their ship, The Benetar, was running space-wide scans for for the missing teammate. It's quite possible that whatever sector of the universe they find themselves in triggers an alert on their search parameters, so they leave Thor to his business and go off to look for Gamora.
Could Gamora Appear in Thor 4?
Could Zoe Saldaña actually appear in Love and Thunder? Well, that's another story. The general rule when it comes to Marvel Studios cameos is to expect the unexpected, even if what's expected never ends up happening (see previous speculation that Doctor Strange would crop up in WandaVision.) But it does seem well within the realm of possibility that Saldaña has filmed a cameo for a post-credits scene in the film.
Where Will Gamora Actually Show Up Next?
Gamora being in Thor 4's post-credits stinger gives rise to another concern: The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special comes out and is set chronologically before 2023's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Now, director James Gunn has hinted that Gamora isn't even in the Holiday Special which would lead one to believe that she's strictly in Vol. 3, which means it would be difficult narratively to have her meet with the Guardians in Love and Thunder's credits scene, which is sure to be an emotional moment only for her to sit out the special and not appear again until the third movie.
Whatever the case may be, fans can expect a few more adventures with the Guardians of the Galaxy before all is said and done for them. James Gunn has gone on record saying Vol. 3 is the end of the current team and their storyline. But until that wraps up in 2023, there are still a few more outings for Quill, Rocket, Nebula and the gang.
Marvel Studios' Thor: Love and Thunder opens in theaters July 8.
