It's now hard to imagine anyone other than Zoe Saldaña playing Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, The Housemaid star Amanda Seyfried was once said to be at the top of Marvel Studios' wish list.
After being cast, Saldaña would go on to play Gamora in three Guardians of the Galaxy movies, two Avengers movies, and even a holiday special on Disney+. Seyfried has still found plenty of success, but that's a lot of well-paid work for any actor to miss out on.
During a recent Q&A with SAG-AFTRA Foundation, the Long Bright River star said she has no regrets about turning down a role in James Gunn's 2014 blockbuster and admitted that, at the time, she had little faith in it being a good movie.
"I think turning down Guardians of the Galaxy was just so obvious to me at the time," Seyfried explained. "I’m like, 'This is not going to be a hit. The tree and the raccoon are talking to each other. And also they’re all in space.' And I was just like, 'This will ruin my career if this is bad. And there’s a high chance that this could be bad.'"
Seyfried continued, "I mean, obviously I was wrong. But I still don’t take back that decision. I made it for myself. I made it for my family that I knew I wanted to have. And I just don’t want to spend all the time in the makeup trailer. I just can’t sit still anyway. I really don’t like stunts, and I don’t like heights, and I don’t like pretending the entire world. I need something to hold on to."
It doesn't sound like Seyfried has any interest in boarding another superhero or action franchise, likely explaining why she hasn't shown up in the MCU or DCU over the past decade.
X-Men: First Class star Jennifer Lawrence has never shied away from how hellish it was being transformed into Mystique, so it's not difficult to see why Seyfried was reluctant to head down a similar route. However, Saldaña has never really had anything bad to say about her experiences with Marvel Studios, though her time in the MCU appears to be over.
"I mean, so far, I think that she is [gone for good] for me, but I don’t think Gamora has gone for good," she said in 2024 about her hope to see someone else take over the role. "I would think it would be a huge loss for Marvel if they didn’t find a way to bring back The Guardians of the Galaxy."
"It’s just such a fan-favourite group of misfits, you know? And then at the helm, they had a voice like James Gunn’s writing—which is just so marvellous and very specific for this genre," Saldaña continued. "And it’s so great for this genre as well. So, I would be the first one in the first row to sort of celebrate when the Guardians of the Galaxy come back."
Do you think Seyfried would have been a good fit for the MCU's Gamora?