20 Things That Almost Completely Changed The MCU

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a huge, sprawling beast; releasing twelve movies in span of seven years, with just as many planned before the end of the decade, it has gone on to become the highest-grossing franchise of all-time (take that, Harry Potter!). Having pulled in just over $9 billion over the course of its relatively short lifespan, you have to hand it to the guys pulling the strings over at Marvel H.Q. - they clearly know exactly what they're doing. That said, the MCU as it is now wasn't always exactly the way it was intended: in fact, it could have turned out to be very, very different indeed. All the things that led the world's biggest movie franchise towards critical and financial success weren't necessarily set in stone, after all; they were mere decisions made along the way, one by one, a step at a time. There were always other options, actors, directors, writers and narrative beats to explore - all of which, had they been opted for instead, could have either improved, changed or negatively impacted the MCU in dramatic ways. Here, then, are 20 things that almost changed the MCU in a variety of ways; things that came close to happening but were - ultimately - never meant to be...

20. James Gunn Didn't Want To Let Chris Pratt Audition For Guardians Of The Galaxy

Having seen what is arguably the MCU's best film to date, it's hard to imagine anybody other than Chris Pratt in the role of Guardians of the Galaxy's Star Lord. Offering up exactly the right amount of charisma and goofiness required to lead a crazy sci-fi movie like Guardians, Pratt is arguably the key to the movie's success. Weird to think that writer/director James Gunn didn't even want to give Chris Pratt an audition, then. Yup: when Marvel approached him with the idea for Pratt as Star Lord, Gunn turned up his nose. "You've got to be kidding me," he said. "This chubby guy from Parks and Recreation? There€™s no way I€™m going to make that guy the star of my movie!" Talk about eating your words, huh? After auditioning a bunch of other actors, Gunn eventually agreed to see Pratt... and the rest is history. After 20 seconds, he apparently realised that Pratt was the guy for the job. But Guardians very nearly came close to having an entirely different leading man...