The first – but far from the last – death of one of the major heroes in Avengers: Infinity War was Gamora’s demise at the hands of her own adoptive father Thanos. In order to claim the Soul Stone, he had to sacrifice the one person he truly loved. After getting a little teary about it, he did just that, throwing the Guardian over a precipice on the planet Volmir. But is this really the end for Gamora? Or could she still have an important role to play in Avengers 4?
Well, first let’s examine whether she’s actually alive or not. Clearly her body has died, but evidence suggests her soul lives on. As her death unlocked the Soul Stone, we can theorize that Gamora’s spirit resides inside of it. Our best hint at this being the case comes at the end of Infinity War, when Thanos goes into an otherworldly place and speaks with her, appearing as she did when she was a child. Note the orange coloring of this scene – the color of the Soul Stone.
This would fit with the established lore surrounding the Soul Stone in the comics, in which it houses a whole other dimension known as the Soul World. In the source material, this is where the spirits of those Thanos kills with the Stones go. In fact, co-director Joe Russo pretty much confirmed that this is what happens in the film, too.
If the heroes did find a way to free Gamora from the Soul Stone, she could be a key part of putting Thanos off his game. It clearly broke his heart to kill his daughter, so to have her return would really affect him. Perhaps it could even distract him enough for the Avengers to get the Infinity Gauntlet off his hand?
There’s stuff in the source material to back this up, too. In the comics, it’s actually Nebula, Thanos’ other daughter, who succeeds in stealing the Gauntlet from the Mad Titan. It’s possible that she could still fulfill this role in Avengers 4, too, but it might make more sense to have Gamora, who’s been a much more prominent character in the films, take on that responsibility instead.
Either way, this is all just speculation for now, but feel free to chime in with your own thoughts in the comments section down below.