Imagine Chadwick Boseman not playing the role of *in our best Forest Whitaker Wakandan voice* the Bleck Pentha in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sounds crazy, right? It could have happened if Boseman got the role he originally auditioned for. When it comes to the films in Disney/ Marvel Studios stable, we really don’t know much due to all the secrecy around the movies until today. Sarah Finn, the chief casting director behind the beloved MCU, revealed to The Hollywood Reporter the original roles Boseman, Chris Pratt, and Lupita Nyong’o they tried out for.
So what role did Boseman initially audition for in the MCU? None other than Drax The Destroyer (bet you didn’t guess that) who is currently played by Dave Bautista. Of course, we know Chadwick didn’t get the role because now he is King T’Challa until he no longer wants the job, or Disney decides to let his sister Shuri don the Black Panther costume. Another big surprise that came from the story is that Chris Pratt originally auditioned for the role of Captain America. Thank goodness that didn’t work out because Chris Evans has masterfully portrayed the super soldier in a plethora of films over the years.
Pratt is now known as Star-Lord, the leader of the ragtag group of reluctant heroes called the Guardians of The Galaxy. Finn broke down how Pratt’s road to landing the role wasn’t a guaranteed one being that she had to actually convince the film’s director, James Gunn, to give the Parks & Recreation star an audition and even meet up with the actor.
“That was a challenge,” Finn revealed. “But when the two of them met, the rest was history. They got along like a house on fire, and I think that relationship really gave rise to Star-Lord.”
As for Lupita Nyong’o, who masterfully played the role of Nakia opposite Boseman in Black Panther, she initially tested for the part of Nebula (Karen Gillan), daughter of Thanos. Finn reveals they reach out to Lupita and her team with a “straight offer” to join the cast of Black Panther, not wanting to miss out on Nyong’o’s“incredible, exceptional talent.”
We are glad things didn’t go as originally planned, Finn is back on the job currently working on the MCU’s fourth phase of films and original Disney+ shows.
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Photo: Marvel Studios
