Zoe Saldana Shares Gamora Makeup Time-Lapse Video

While Marvel Studios had shown otherworldly beings in movies like The Avengers or either of the Thor movies, it wasn’t until Guardians of the Galaxy hit the silver screen before the studio really jumped in and started introducing all sorts of alien races into the mix.

Even in the main group of Guardians — consisting of Starlord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket, and Groot — we saw five different species of humanoids and dozens more throughout the movie. With so many different skin tones and facial structures needed for each of the individual races, Marvel took to using practical effects and makeup to transform the cast members into their alien counterparts.

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Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Nebula (Karen Gillan), Drax (Dave Bautista), and Yondu (Michael Rooker) are all mainstays within the Guardians that show up to set as their regular human selves just to sit through hours of makeup to turn their skin blue, green, or grey.

Saldana — who serves as the female lead for the franchise — took to Twitter today to show the process involved in making her look truly look of Zen-Whoberis origin, the character’s species within the classic Marvel lore.

The video Saldana posted, which can be seen below, is just 38 seconds long — obviously a time-lapse of the full process which, according to the actress, takes upwards of three hours to apply. Then once filming has wrapped for the day, it’s still not something that she can rip off and be done with — that takes upwards of an hour just to remove the makeup and prosthetics.

Set to the backdrop of ‘Awesome Mixtape #2,’ Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 continues the team’s adventures as they traverse the outer reaches of the cosmos. The Guardians must fight to keep their newfound family together as they unravel the mysteries of Peter Quill’s true parentage. Old foes become new allies and fan-favorite characters from the classic comics will come to our heroes’ aid as the Marvel cinematic universe continues to expand.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is written and directed by James Gunn (Slither). The film marks the return of the original Guardians, including Chris Pratt (Jurassic World) as Peter Quill/Star-Lord; Zoe Saldana (Star Trek Into Darkness) as Gamora; Dave Bautista (Spectre) as Drax; Vin Diesel (Furious 7) as the voice of Groot; Bradley Cooper (American Sniper) as the voice of Rocket; Michael Rooker (Jumper) as Yondu; Karen Gillan (The Big Short) as Nebula; and Sean Gunn (Gilmore Girls) as Kraglin. New cast members include Pom Klementieff (Oldboy), Elizabeth Debicki (The Great Gatsby, Everest), Chris Sullivan (The Knick, The Drop) and Kurt Russell (The Hateful Eight, The Thing).

Next up for Marvel is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 on May 5, 2017. Spider-Man: Homecoming lands on July 7, 2017, followed by Thor: Ragnarok on November 3, 2017. After that Black Panther debuts on February 16, 2018, while Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on May 4, 2018. Ant-Man and the Wasp is slated for July 6, 2018, followed by Captain Marvel on March 8, 2019.

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