James Gunn Says Only One of the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Actors Was His Original Choice

The Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy wrapped up this year, and although post-credits scenes led us to believe that we will see our friends return, director James Gunn has made it clear that his three film arc is finished for now, and he will be working on running the DC Universe for the foreseeable future. But while we wait, it’s nice to be able to revisit the three films (and holiday special) that he created, as they have become some of the most beloved of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

But as much as those movies are hilarious and heartfelt with perfect casting, the actors who portray the characters came together piece by piece, and were mostly not who Gunn had in mind from the start.

CBM reports that in the Marvel Studios: Assembled documentary for Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3, Gunn initially had a much different cast in mind to assemble the ragtag group of misfits:

"When I first went to Marvel and I pitched 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' I brought a little book. I had worked very hard trying to put this little book together of all the little pictures and photo references, and all that stuff. And in that book, there were all the characters listed and who I thought should play those characters. And of course, none of those actors who were in that book ended up playing the characters, except for Zoe Saldaña, who I met and loved from the beginning.”  

It’s hard to imagine the Guardians being played by anyone other than Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, and Karen Gillan. They have done a great job, and I do hope we see them again in the future. But I am curious as to who Gunn had in mind when he pitched the movie though…