Amanda Seyfried, the renowned actress, recently revealed that she was the first choice to play Gamora in the successful Marvel saga, Guardians of the Galaxy. However, she decided to turn down the role, as she feared the movie would fail at the box office and harm her career in Hollywood. In a conversation on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, Seyfried admitted that her decision was based on the fear of being the star of a major project that might not succeed. “If you’re the star of a giant movie like that, and it fails, Hollywood doesn’t forgive you,” she commented.
Very poor eye to see where success will be
Despite finding the script for Guardians of the Galaxy excellent, her doubt about the impact of a potential failure led her to decline the offer. “I thought, is it worth it?” she reflected. Additionally, the actress expressed her concern about the characterization process, stating that she is not a big fan of Marvel movies. “I don’t want to be green. It’s a lot of work,” she mentioned, comparing her situation to that of other actresses who have played similar characters.
Finally, the role of Gamora was played by Zoe Saldaña, who has maintained the character until the end of the saga, culminating with Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3 in May 2023. As has been shown, the franchise has been a great success, grossing $733 million with the first film and nearly $2.5 billion in total, including the sequels. Guardians of the Galaxy also catapulted Saldaña to fame, appearing in iconic films such as Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, which are among the highest-grossing of all time.
In retrospect, Seyfried has admitted that she often thinks about her decision to turn down the role of Gamora, although she believes she would not have enjoyed the transformation process associated with the character.
