Amanda Seyfried turned down massive Marvel role because she thought the movie would bomb

We’re fast approaching the release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The movie is set to release on 5 May 2023 and will be the second film in Phase Five of the MCU (following Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania). There’s plenty to be excited about, and if you’re feeling the hype, I guess there’s always the new Holiday Special to watch, complete with its God of War reference.

The recently released trailer revealed that Gamora will be making a return, too (thanks to Endgame time shenanigans), but what you might not know is that back before the first Guardians of the Galaxy film was made, a very different actor almost played the character instead of Zoe Saldaña.

Take a look at the trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 below.

As reported by UNILAD, Amanda Seyfried, best known for her roles in Mean Girls and Mamma Mia!, revealed during a 2020 episode of The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast that she was offered the role of Gamora, but turned it down. Why? She “didn’t want to be part of the first Marvel movie that bombed.”

“I said, ‘Who wants to see a movie about a talking tree and a raccoon?’ Which is clearly - I was very wrong,” she explained at the time. “The script was great, it was all based in not wanting to be ‘that guy’. Because if you are the star of a giant movie like that, and it bombs, Hollywood does not forgive you. I’ve seen that happen to people and it was a giant, giant fear and I thought, is it worth it?”

Obviously, the first Guardians of the Galaxy film (and its sequel) ended up being a huge success - the 2014 movie raked in $772,776,600 at the worldwide box office (cheers, Box Office Mojo). It’s so strange to think of anyone but Saldaña as Gamora now, but it’s interesting to imagine what could have been.