Why Star-Lord & Gamora's First On-Screen Kiss Wasn't In A Guardians Of The Galaxy Movie

One of the best things about James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy" movies is their unwavering commitment to avoiding the easy path when it comes to character development. For as much as the biggest a-holes in the universe mature over the course of Gunn's trilogy, their personal journeys are far from linear. They frequently regress or wind up taking one step back for every two steps forward, only to dust themselves off and try again. It's how a talking raccoon became perhaps the most human character in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Such is also the case for Peter Jason "Star-Lord" Quill (Chris Pratt) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana). The two star-crossed lovers, who start out as an immature rogue and a disillusioned assassin, stumble their way towards a romance over the course of the first two "Guardians" movies, only for a combination of circumstances and their individual baggage to get in the way. It's why the pair didn't even lock lips onscreen for the first time until "Avengers: Infinity War," at which point outside forces (namely, Gamora's "father," Thanos) intruded once more.

Gunn has confirmed this was basically his idea. "I begged them to have that kiss in the movie, because it was necessary to really cement their [Peter and Gamora's] relationship. I had a kiss in 'Vol. 2' that I cut — it was awesome, but it came in a weird time," he told The New York Times. 

To that point, Peter and Gamora spend the majority of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" working through their respective traumas (Peter's father issues and Gamora's guilt over the way Thanos abused her adopted sibling Nebula). Because of this, it's hard to think of a scene where the pair might've kissed without it feeling "weird," as Gunn put it.

When "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" picks up, Gamora is still very much coming to terms with her abusive upbringing. It's the same reason why romance was never really going to be feasible for her and Peter in the film ... even if Peter hadn't been dealing with that whole thing about his biological father being a sentient planet hell-bent on controlling the universe. But by the point "Avengers: Infinity War" begins a few years later, enough time had passed for the pair to have a realistic shot at being a mostly-functional couple. So reasoned James Gunn, telling TNYT:

"At the end of 'Vol. 2,' you establish the fact that they have feelings for each other pretty distinctly, but in 'Infinity War,' we needed to establish that they were now boyfriend-girlfriend and this was a normal thing for them. It wasn't really about the kiss, it was about showing that they were now a couple."

Of course, things don't work out hunky dory for the duo from there, between Thanos killing Gamora and an alternate universe version of Gamora essentially taking her place in the main MCU timeline (having no reason to remember her relationship with Peter from, quite literally, another life). Thankfully, Gunn resists the urge to simply smack the reset button in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3." Instead, we get a much bolder and more satisfying resolution to Peter and Gamora's relationship than any by-the-numbers happy ending could provide. But would you expect anything less from what's always been one of the MCU's most emotionally-complex film series?

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" is currently playing in theaters.