When Kenneth Branagh’s first Thor movie hit theaters in 2011, Zachary Levi was set to play Fandral, one of Thor’s three warrior friends. But because more episodes of his series “Chuck” were ordered at short notice, he had to cancel again. Josh Dallas got the part. But then came Thor 2 just two years later. Dallas didn’t have time due to his commitments on the Once Upon A Time series, and Marvel contacted Levi again. As a guest on the Happy Sad Confused video podcast, he now explains that he was skeptical. In the end, however, he said yes, because promises were made to him by Marvel, which were subsequently not kept.
Kevin Feige contacted him, but Levi insisted on a personal interview: “Because To be honest, I watched the first movie and felt like the Warriors Three weren’t really put to good use.”
So he asked Feige if it would be like this again. Because if that’s the case, he should cancel. But Kevin Feige assured him, “No, no, no, they’re going to be a big part of this movie.”
“Yeah, not really,” Levi adds, his eyes visibly rolled up, making no secret of his disappointment and how much he felt screwed. He thought everything would be fine, so he made the movie. “However, the Warriors Three were not used as much as I had hoped. But I appreciated the job,” he says, at least somewhat forgiving of the role, which he also briefly reprized in “Thor 3.”
Despite the mini-Marvel role: Levi almost became Star-Lord
There was another reason why Levi didn’t want to play the part of Fandral at first. He feared that would mean he wouldn’t be able to play another MCU role. He also asked Kevin Feige. He denied this and gave him hope for another role.
At least Levi doesn’t seem to feel fooled by the MCU boss here. The actor, who previously auditioned for the role of Captain America, was, after “Thor 2”, also one of the candidates for the role as Star-Lord in “Guardian of the Milky Way“.
He was not only at the first audition, but was also invited back and even allowed to do test recordings. He was therefore one of the last candidates for the role, which Chris Pratt eventually got. In fact, he was pretty sure he got the partsaid Levi . The next cancellation “hurt then,” he explains.
After that, Levi became a DC superhero after all – in “Shazam!”. The sequel “Shazam! Fury Of The Gods” hit theaters – but disappointed at the box office. Given the recast at DC, it’s still unclear if the character has a future with Levi as an actor.