Gamora, played by Zoe Saldana in the two Guardians of the Galaxy movies as well as Avengers: Infinity War and its upcoming sequel Avengers: Endgame, is the lethal alien assassin who betrays her evil adopted father, Thanos, to align herself with the galaxy's heroes. Fans know her by her green skin and swordsmanship, but it turns out that early art for the character took her design in a much different direction.
Andy Park, Marvel Studios Director of Visual Development, posted one of his Guardians of the Galaxy concept art pieces to Instagram, saying, "Here’s another alternate concept design I did of Gamora on the first Guardians of the Galaxy."
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The most striking difference between this version and the one that was ultimately chosen is the facial markings: in the comics, the Daughter of Thanos has golden harlequin-style patches over her eyes, which are depicted here as being painted on in violet. In the films, they appear only as a slight variation in skin tone. Her outfit is also markedly different than the final version, and her cybernetic enhancements appear to be represented in a sinuous network of subcutaneous wires.
Park has previously shared a different color variation of the piece, showing that even green wasn't always a given for Gamora's design.
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Gamora will return in Avengers: Endgame, arriving in theaters on April 26, 2019. Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, the film stars Robert Downey Jr., Josh Brolin, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Olsen, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Bettany, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Benedict Wong, Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan, Vin Diesel, Dave Bautista, Pom Klementieff, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Holland and Anthony Mackie.