Zachary Levi Says He Came Close To Landing Star-Lord In ‘Guardians,’ Which Helped Him Land ‘Shazam’ Lead

Fans of Marvel Studios will probably know that “Shazam” actor Zachary Levi has appeared in an MCU film in the past, notably 2013’s “Thor: The Dark World,” playing the title character’s friend, Fandral. But that wasn’t the first Marvel role that Levi wanted. In fact, he was one of the final people in the running for what would have been a much, much bigger role.

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Speaking to The Fourth Wall podcast (full episode coming soon), Zachary Levi talked about the audition process he had for “Guardians of the Galaxy,” where he was one of the final three for the role of Star-Lord. And he credits that audition process (and his relationship with James Gunn) as one of the reasons he ended up landing that aforementioned starring role in the DCEU’s “Shazam.”

“James [Gunn] and I knew each other, we were friends, we would have game nights at each other’s homes, had a lot of mutual friends. And so he had asked me to come in and read for Star-Lord, and I did, and then that led to the next step, and then all of a sudden I was camera testing,” revealed Levi. “Oh man, I wanted that role so bad, like so, so, so, so bad. It came down to me, one other guy, and Chris Pratt, but Chris was always their favorite and he was hesitant to take it, which is understandable, I mean it’s a big franchise thing, it’s Marvel, does it work out, does it not work out? Is this what everyone is going to know me as for the rest of my life? All of those things that go through your head.”

He continued, “But eventually, and I think smartly, he decided to take the job and so it didn’t go my way or anyone else’s way for that matter, but I hoped I left enough of a good impression with James that when I was auditioning for ‘Shazam,’ and his very dear friend, and manager, and sometimes producing partner, Peter Safran, calls up James because this is how our industry works…Fortunately, I was in good standing with James, I try to be in good standing with as many people as I can be and try to be a decent person, and I think between that and how well James thought I did in the Star-Lord test, he said, ‘Yeah man, you really should give Zach an opportunity at this. I really think he could be great.’ Was that the thing that sent it all over for me? I don’t know that, but I’m sure it was part of that conversation, absolutely. I’m indebted to James that he would believe in me enough to remember that and pass that info on.”

It would appear, in a bit of a roundabout way, Levi’s audition process for ‘Guardians’ put him in one of the top contender positions for “Shazam.” And honestly, it makes sense, especially when you look at the characters of Shazam and Star-Lord. While Star-Lord is a bit of an immature man-child, who obsesses over his childhood interests, Shazam is literally a child in the body of a man, who has childlike interests because…well, he’s a child. 

And it seems to have worked out well for all parties involved, as “Guardians of the Galaxy” with Chris Pratt as Star-Lord has been a massive success, spawning multiple sequels, and “Shazam” was also a success, with the first sequel coming next year. 

Again, you can hear the full discussion with Zachary Levi, where he talks about his new film “American Underdog,” as well as his comic book roles, in the upcoming Fourth Wall episode coming soon. 

-additional reporting by Griffin Schiller