Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Why Star-Lord And Gamora Don’t Kiss

Peter Quill began falling for the deadly, green-skinned (reformed) assassin in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy — nearly kissing her as she enjoyed listening to his earthling music. So going into the sequel, even though just a couple months had passed since the events of the first movie, many people assumed Gamora and Peter would eventually kiss by the end of the film.

That, of course, didn’t happen, though it wasn’t from a lack of trying on Peter’s part. From the very beginning, even though she didn’t seem upset by it, he went out of his way to clarify that he wasn’t really flirting with Ayesha. And if Gamora had any doubts about how Peter felt towards her, Mantis cleared that up right away when she used her empathic powers to reveal Peter feels “sexual love” for her.

After that awkward moment, Peter and Gamora ended up slow-dancing on Ego’s planet. But still no kiss! It was only when Ego turned out to be evil and she knew that Peter’s life was at risk that Gamora started to show just how much she really cares about him. In the end, the emotionally-challenged Gamora would only acknowledged that there is an “unspoken thing” between them.

So why no kiss? “We have the moment between Gamora and Peter Quill. Some people have asked, ‘Why not have that result in a kiss?’ The truth is because that’s not who Gamora is,” filmmaker James Gunn explained, during a spoiler-filled Facebook Q&A. “She is not someone who is going to just give in to the moment of a lustful, passionate moment. That’s just not who she is. But what she did do: She loves Peter Quill. That’s very obvious at the end movie. And she admits that to him and their love is based on something much deeper than sex. It’s based on a profound friendship between the two of them. They are the heads of this family in a lot of ways.”

MORE: James Gunn Explains Why Ego Told Star-Lord About His Mother / Director Says That’s Not Teen Groot / “Brandy” Songwriter Comments On Song’s Use / Alternate Costume Designs For Ayesha

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).

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is now playing!