Before Dave Bautista was cast in the role, there were reports that Jason Momoa had emerged as Marvel’s pick to play Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy, only for the Game of Thrones and Conan the Barbarian star to allegedly turn down the studio’s offer to join the cosmic superhero ensemble. Well, speaking to Zap2It, Momoa – who has since been heavily rumoured for a part in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel sequel Batman vs. Superman – has confirmed that he did audition, and explained his reasons for passing on the movie:
“I think it’s perfectly cast. Dave is perfect for that role, for Drax. It didn’t really fit in my time because I’ve done so many things where I don’t say much and I’m colored up and I have my shirt off again. I made a conscious choice to turn down some movies that were action-based to direct Road to Paloma so people could see that side. I want my children to see their father happy. It’s not that it’s not a good role, it just wasn’t the right thing. I was on Stargate: Atlantis for four years playing a similar character called Ronon, who was an alien who didn’t say much and grunted. I’ve been there and done that, whether people have seen it or not. You want to stretch.”
Momoa then offered a little insight into his audition alongside Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill, a.k.a. Star-Lord: “One of the funnest auditions I’ve ever done in my life was with [Chris]. He’s phenomenal. He’s going to kill it. It’s going to be amazing. It’s a whole Han Solo vibe. It’s going to be a phenomenal movie. I’m glad that he is the lead of that. He’s funny as hell, man. He can improv; he just acts circles around me. It was really, really fantastic.”
And finally, as for those DC rumours, Momoa admitted that there are superhero roles that take his fancy, although he stopped short of revealing which: “There’s definitely some, absolutely. I was a huge comic book fan, and I still am… I’m not going to tell you the ones I collect, because then you’d know.”
Would you like to see Momoa taking on a superhero role, and if so which? Let us know in the comments below or head on over to The Flickering Myth Forum…
Guardians of the Galaxy is set for release on August 1st, with James Gunn (Super) directing a cast that also includes Zoe Saldana (Star Trek Into Darkness) as Gamora, Bradley Cooper (American Hustle) as Rocket Raccoon, Vin Diesel (Riddick) as Groot, Benicio Del Toro (Sin City) as The Collector, Lee Pace (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) as Ronan the Accuser, Karen Gillan (Doctor Who) as Nebula, Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond) as Korath, John C. Reilly (Step Brothers) as Rhomman Dey, and Glenn Close (Damages) as Nova Prime Rael.
Originally published February 26, 2014. Updated April 11, 2018.
