After making such a lasting impression as Gamora across three Guardians of the Galaxy movies as well as Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, it might be difficult to picture anyone other than Zoe Saldaña playing the Deadliest Woman in the Galaxy, but the Avatar star wasn't actually Marvel Studios' first choice.
Amanda Seyfried has previously revealed that she was originally offered the role of Gamora in James Gunn's first GOTG movie prior to Saldaña signing on (whether the director remembers or not!), and the Jennifer's Body star has now elaborated on her decision to decline.
While appearing as a guest on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Seyfried revealed that she "mulled over" the offer for a few days before deciding that the part just wasn't for her.
“I was really scared of the idea of being stuck and painted a different color because of the amount of time [it takes],” Seyfried said. “It was a giant opportunity. I had just met James in person. He is wonderful. Apparently someone said he didn’t remember but it’s definitely true. I definitely got the offer for it and I mulled over it for a couple days. I didn’t want to live in London for six months out of the year. There was another movie I really wanted to do with Seth MacFarlane called A Million Ways to Die in the West. It felt like a good opportunity.”
“I was at a precarious moment in my career and I didn’t want to suffer for the work,” Seyfried added. “Sitting there for four-and-a-half hours every morning seemed like it wasn’t going to be fun. I had done some green screen stuff and it wasn’t my best or my cup of tea then. I don’t regret anything. I made that decision for myself. It was good for me then and it was good for me now.”
Long hours in the makeup chair wasn't Seyfried's only concern, as the actress simply didn't think that a movie based on a relatively obscure Marvel property would be a box office success.
“Let’s also remember that being a part of the first Marvel movie that bombs ain’t good for your career,” she continued. “I thought that because this was about a talking tree and a talking raccoon that it would be Marvel’s first bomb and me and Chris Pratt would never work again. I was wrong! But I was just being smart. It’s not brave.”
Guardians went on to be a big hit for the studio, but it doesn't sound like Seyfried has many regrets about turning down the chance to play Gamora.
Seyfried has yet to make her comic book movie debut. Do you think there are any Marvel or DC characters she'd be suited to? Let us know in the comments section down below.