Amanda Seyfried nearly joined the MCU to play Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy.
While speaking with Josh Horowitz for the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Seyfried admitted that she received an offer to play the adopted daughter of Thanos. Despite a “wonderful” meeting with James Gunn, Seyfried did not want to play the character for practical reasons.
“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. “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.”
Instead of joining the Guardians, Seyfried opted to work with Seth MacFarlane on A Million Ways to Die in the West.
Marvel is a behemoth in the movie industry. In the early 2010s, the MCU was still in its early stages. Guardians of the Galaxy does not feature recognizable characters like Spider-Man or Captain America. Joining a little-known franchise was a risk Seyfried did not want to take.
“Let’s also remember that being a part of the first Marvel movie that bombs ain’t good for your career,” Seyfried said. “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.”
Zoe Saldaña signed on for Gamora, and the rest is history. Still, Seyfried does not regret her decision.
“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,” Seyfried added. “I don’t regret anything. I made that decision for myself. It was good for me then, and it was good for me now.”
