'Avengers: Infinity War' Directors Didn't Consult James Gunn Over Guardians Deaths

The latest crossover epic from Marvel Studios wreaked major devastation, taking many beloved characters out of commission by the time the credits finished rolling. Though there's hope for the future, it appears that some franchises — like the Guardians of the Galaxy — have been wiped out completely.

But while Star-Lord, Drax, Mantis, and Groot are likely to return in the next installment, Avengers: Infinity War directors Joe and Anthony Russo spoke about the deaths in the movie, and whether they consulted with Guardians director James Gunn over their creative choices.

"Marvel's very good about allowing every director to have their freedom," Joe said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.

"Basically we set out a story we want to tell, and we present that to Marvel," Anthony added. "And we got no pushback from that choice. We didn't have a direct conversation with James about the Gamora choice, but I'm sure, certainly, Kevin did. And there was no pushback on it."

This is somewhat surprising, considering Gunn is currently working on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

"For us, I think, again, at the end of the day and part of the reason we made four movies with Marvel is that they're very good at allowing each movie to be what it needs to be," said Joe. "Nothing is sacred. They take risks, and they've gotten better at taking risks, illustrated by their run of Ragnarok, Homecoming, Black Panther, and now this movie. And I think that there was a change of guard at Marvel quite a few years back that just really allowed for more significant creative freedom and it's highlighted our time there. They've been great about allowing us to make really extreme choices and game changers at the end of each of these films that we've worked on with them."

They also spoke about Star-Lord and Thor's rage getting the best of them, screwing up right when they had opportunities to defeat Thanos, which allowed the Mad Titan to ultimately achieve his goal. But they spoke about future opportunities for storytelling with Peter Quill's character, possibly hinting at his return for Avengers 4.

But with Gamora, it seems less likely.

Zoe Saldana herself spoke about exiting the Marvel Cinematic Universe during an interview with the LA Times.

"It was sad, of course, because I think that we all suffer from FOMO," Saldana said. "There is a fear always of missing out, but I'm so happy that I got to play a part in the Marvel Universe, and I also got to play a character that — it has been brought to my attention — is seen as a great role model for young women. And also for young boys. I live for that, that's why I do what I do. So I guess I'm going to cry all the way to Avatar, you know?"

We'll see if Gamora returns in Avengers 4 next year.

Avengers: Infinity War is now playing in theaters.