10 Ways The Marvel Cinematic Universe Almost Turned Out Completely Different

8. James Gunn Had No Intention Of Giving Chris Pratt An Audition

If anybody doubted the popularity of the Marvel Studios brand, then Guardians of the Galaxy definitively laid those arguments to rest. Long regarded as the studio's biggest gamble, the $170m space adventure was based on a relatively obscure comic book and featured little star power, yet turned out to be a critical and commercial smash hit and currently ranks as the second biggest hit of the year with over $750m at the box office. Guardians also featured a star-making turn from Chris Pratt, who led the ensemble cast with a hugely charismatic lead performance that established him as a bona-fide Hollywood leading man. However, during the audition process for the role of Peter Quill director James Gunn had no intention whatsoever of even considering the idea of casting Pratt, revealing during an interview that 'when somebody first suggested him to me, I thought, you got to be kidding me. This chubby guy from 'Parks and Rec'? There's no way I'm going to make that guy the star of my movie.' The likes of Joel Edgerton, Garrett Hedlund, John Krasinski, James Marsden, Jensen Ackles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and countless others auditioned for the part, and when the director was finally convinced by his assistant to give Pratt a chance he 'knew within 20 seconds of his audition that this was the guy.' And after winning the coveted role and losing 60 pounds, Chris Pratt proved any doubters wrong by delivering a brilliant performance in one of 2014's best blockbusters.