Eternals Star Kumail Nanjiani Was Almost Going To Join Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3(Pic Credit: Instagram/kumailn, IMDb)
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Eternals star Kumail Nanjiani almost had a role in Chris Pratt’s Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 3 before he was cast as Kingo in the Marvels flick. The actor’s career has been a whirlwind, from stand-up stages to hit sitcoms. Before being known for his role in the Chloé Zhao directorial, he was best known for projects like Silicon Valley and The Big Sick.
His latest film has just hit the theatres last week and has become the second-highest Hollywood opener in 2021 with $162 million. While the MCU has just released it, they have also gone into production for the third instalment of the GOTG.
Directed by James Gunn, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 casts Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan and Pom Klementieff. But what if we tell you Eternals’ Kumail Nanjiani was also going to be a part of this ensemble cast.
Eternals co-writer Kaz Firpo revealed during an interview with My Mom’s Basement that they were originally barred from casting Kumail Nanjiani due to the actor’s prior commitment to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Firpo said, “We pitched the producers right from the beginning, ‘It’s got to be Kumail!’ and they were like, ‘It can’t be because he’s got a role in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3.'”
While in another interview with ScreenRant shared how a delay in the GOTG created an opening for the actor. “But yeah, the whole delay happened with Guardians, which miraculously opened the door for Kumail to step into our film, so I think that’s just one of those meant-to-be moments.”
“I’m a little disappointed about the delay personally, as a fan, but as a filmmaker, I’m very grateful, because I think no one could’ve pulled it off quite like Kumail,” Kaz Firpo said.
Other than Kumail Nanjiani, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington, Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, Lauren Ridloff, and more appear in Eternals.
