Amanda Seyfried doesn’t entirely regret not starring in “Guardians of the Galaxy” but does now know she was “wrong” to assume the film would flop.
The “Long Bright River” actress said during the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast in the below video that she was in talks to play Gamora in the first “Guardians of the Galaxy” feature. Zoe Saldaña was later cast. Seyfried admitted that she was “way too scared” to join the MCU, especially as an all-green character due to the five-plus hours of makeup required to transform for the role.
“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 [director] 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. […] I was at a precarious moment in my career and I didn’t want to suffer for the work. 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.”
Seyfried continued, “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.”
Instead, Seyfried decided to star in faux Western “A Million Ways to Die in the West.”
“There was another movie I really wanted to do with Seth MacFarlane called ‘A Million Ways to Die in the West,’” she said. “It felt like a good opportunity.”
That isn’t the only role that Seyfried almost had: The actress has been vocal about auditioning for Glinda in “Wicked” before Ariana Grande landed the lead. Seyfried now revealed that the two-part “Wicked” films might have impacted the development of a third “Mamma Mia!” film; Seyfried told The Hollywood Reporter that 2024 film “Wicked” was stalled at Universal due to sequel “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.”
“It’s an either/or situation with musicals,” she said. “And I have this theory that Universal just knows we’re going to do it, so they’re not in any rush. And it’s just going to cost double.”
