15 Actors Who Auditioned to Play Star-Lord Before Chris Pratt (One of Them Just Said 'The World is a Much Better Place' Since He Was Not Cast)

Marvel‘s casting department has been on a years-long winning streak when they are lining up actors with their iconic heroes for the MCU. They always find the right person to play each role.

For instance, take Chris Pratt, who was cast as Star-Lord for Guardians of the Galaxy!

The actor perfectly embodies the fun but complex hero in several films across the franchise. However, he faced stiff competition from a talented batch of actors to earn a chance to join the Avengers.

In a franchise that already had several (expertly cast) actors named Chris on the team, he was introduced as the plucky and smart-mouthed Peter Quill in 2014. Since then, he’s stepped out with the team of heroes multiple times, most recently in 2023′s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

While he is now synonymous with the part, we did some digging and rounded up 15 other actors who auditioned for the opportunity. Interestingly, there are even rumors about who were the second and third choices.

Some of his competitors wound up acting alongside Chris in the MCU. One even joined the cast of the first Guardians movie in another role. Others have fronted their own mega-successful franchises.

This week, one of the 15 confirmed their involvement and said that “the world is a much better place” since he was not cast.

Scroll through the slideshow to see who else could have played Star-Lord in the Marvel Cinematic Universe…