Mean Girls and Mamma Mia! star Amanda Seyfried has revealed that she was offered the role of Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy, but turned it down for a few reasons – including because she didn't think the movie would be a success.
"I was really scared of the idea of being stuck and painted a different color because of the amount of time [it takes]," she said during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
"It was a giant opportunity. I had just met James [Gunn] 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."
Seyfried added, "Let’s also remember that being a part of the first Marvel movie that bombs ain’t good for your career. 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."
Of course, Zoe Saldaña went on to play green-skinned assassin Gamora in all three of James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy movies, as well as Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. The first Guardians movie was released in 2014 and co-starred Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, and Vin Diesel.
Next up for Seyfried is the horror comedy I Don't Understand You, which arrives in theaters on June 6. In the meantime, get up to speed with the rest of this year's best upcoming movies with our guide to 2025's biggest movie release dates.
