It’s not an understatement to say that Guardians of the Galaxy was a transformative movie for the careers of several people. It was the first big chance for both James Gunn to direct and for Chris Pratt to star in their first blockbuster film. Which makes it surprising that neither one of them wanted Chris Pratt in the movie.
Speaking with ET Pratt reveals that he had gone out for several major blockbusters, including earlier Marvel movies like Thor and the first Captain America. However, he received zero interest from the directors. Ultimately, he found success doing comedy on Parks & Recreation, and he assumed those sorts of roles would be his career.
He then ended up in the film Zero Dark Thirty, however, which got him in shape. Pratt says he began to have an interest in doing something with more action in it, but still wasn’t that enthused about being turned down by Marvel again. However, his agent insisted that Guardians of the Galaxy was the right project for him, leading him to attend an unplanned audition. Pratt said:
She was like, ‘I’m telling you, Guardians of the Galaxy.’I was like, ‘Fine, I’ll do it.’ And so [casting director] Sarah Finn snuck me in.
Casting director Sarah Halley Finn is an icon of the industry and a name that any MCU fan, or really any movie fan, will recognize. She’s been the casting director on more movies than you can count, including many of Marvel’s projects. She brought together the Avengers, and clearly she thought Pratt was somebody worth being seen for Guardians.
However, to hear Pratt tell it, one person who was not convinced the actor was right for the role of Star-Lord was director James Gunn himself. Pratt says Gunn was specifically against letting him audition at first, but as soon as he agreed, he knew he’d found Star-Lord. Pratt continued:
James Gunn had not agreed to see me, is like ‘What is he doing here? I told you I didn’t wanna see him.’ Then I auditioned, and like 20 seconds in, he’s like, ‘That’s my dude.’
James Gunn certainly made the right call that day. Guardians of the Galaxy was something of a surprise hit, given how unknown the characters were at the time. The movie made Chris Pratt a movie star, leading to more A-list franchises like Jurassic World. James Gunn is now the head of DC Studios, something which almost certainly would not have happened without the success of Guardians.
And Star-Lord’s story isn't over yet. We were told at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 that “Star-Lord will return” but Chris Pratt’s name wasn’t among those listed in the cast of Avengers: Doomsday. Whatever the future holds for Chris Pratt, it’s a good thing James Gunn didn’t throw him out.
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