WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War, in theaters now.
Avengers: Infinity War did a great deal to bring Star-Lord and Gamora’s complicated relationship into the forefront. There is perhaps no greater example of their commitment to each other than the scene in which Star-Lord upholds his vow to kill Gamora if she is ever kidnapped by Thanos. His attempt fails due to Thanos’ tampering with the Reality Stone, but the effect is nonetheless a powerful one. It’s also a moment that almost didn’t happen.
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In an original draft of the script, Star-Lord would have lowered his weapon, unable to keep his promise. Guardians of the Galaxy series director James Gunn and Star-Lord actor Chris Pratt lobbied to have the scene changed, though. Thankfully, they were successful.
“The more I think about it, the better it is that it got changed,” Avengers Infinity War writer Stephen McFeely said in an interview with BuzzFeed. McFeely went on to explain that the moment is the thematically correct one for the film, which is largely about the sometimes-terrible cost of doing the right thing.
“Thanos has that same choice later [to kill Gamora], and he chooses to do it and succeeds,” McFeely said. “Wanda has that same choice later [with Vision]. A lot of characters have really tough choices to make.”
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In theaters now, Avengers: Infinity War is directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Bettany, Anthony Mackie, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Olsen, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Tom Hiddleston and Josh Brolin, among others.