In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos reluctantly sacrificed Gamora so that he could acquire the Soul Stone on Vormir, but by the end of Avengers: Endgame, the Mad Titan’s adopted daughter was back in the world of the living. Meanwhile, though Black Widow suffered the same sad fate in an alternate timeline, it doesn’t look like Marvel has any plans to resurrect her. And in an interview with Variety, co-writer Christopher Markus explained how one heroine could come back but not the other.
For those who’ve seen Endgame, it may already be pretty clear how Gamora was able to return to the fray, but if you’re in need of a little clarification, Markus offered the following summary:
“It’s not the Gamora that was killed by the Soul Stone, that is the Gamora from the past. When Gamora went off that cliff, the Gamora from that time period died. But this is the Gamora from prior to that. So she’s still alive, she traveled in the time machine to the present. You know, like you do.”
Endgame co-director Joe Russo recently confirmed that the Soul Stone sacrifice is irreversible, and so far, we’ve seen no reason to doubt his word. After all, the Gamora who died on Vormir is still very much deceased, and the version who currently exists in the MCU’s main timeline is effectively a different person.
Of course, by that same logic, there remains every possibility that a Black Widow from an alternate reality might show up somewhere down the line, but at the very least, it sounds like the Natasha Romanoff we currently know is indeed gone forever. That being said, Scarlett Johansson is still set to reprise her role in the upcoming Black Widow solo movie, though it’s widely predicted that the film will be an origin story.
As for the new Gamora, the ending of Avengers: Endgame left her with an uncertain future, though it’s looking more than likely that she’ll have a part to play in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.