It’s clear that actorZachary Levihas found the superhero role that’s perfect for him with Shazam!, but he used to have a certain Marvel character in mind as the one he was hoping to play the most. Back at the Atlanta convention Dragon Con 2021, Levi was speaking about his career when he was asked about other superheroes he’d like to play on the big screen. Initially, he named Deadpool as someone he was looking at before Ryan Reynolds got involved.

Reed Richards of the Fantastic Fouris another option Levi says he’d be interested in. He also admits to thinking about Spider-Man and Batman in years past, though he adds he never spent much time thinking about those possibilities. ViaThe Direct, the actor then name drops Gambit of the X-Men as the superhero he’d spent a particularly long time fantasizing about portraying, in part because of their shared Louisiana heritage.

“I really wanted to be Gambit for a long time, that would be super dope. He was actually my favorite X-Men [character] for a long time. Like all my buddies wanna be Wolverine [when] we’d all play outside [as kids]. Maybe I had some kind of stick that I pretended to be a bow [staff] that I charged and threw my charged cards at everybody… I was born in Louisiana… so I was always like, ‘That’s my guy!’ So then I had these dreams of, ‘Oh my god, maybe I can be Gambit.’ And then, you know… that didn’t happen. But again, it wasn’t supposed to. Because I get to be this guy [Shazam]. And this guy’s super fun.”

Levi could have also beenStar-Lord in theGuardians of the Galaxyseriesif the role didn’t go to Chris Pratt, but looking back at the situation now, Levi couldn’t be any more grateful. At the time, Levi was still looking to score a major superhero role, and it helped that he already happened to know James Gunn. This connection led to a formal audition for Star-Lord, a role Levi very much wanted to land.

In a new interview with The Playlist, Levi explains the story behind this failed audition. He had made it as far as screen-testing for the character, essentially serving as a back-up if Pratt - the studio’s favorite choice - didn’t work out. For better or for worse, Pratt signed his name on the dotted line, ending Levi’s chances of joining the MCU as a member of theGuardians of the Galaxy.

“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. 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.”

Ultimately, Levi left a good impression on James Gunn, even if he didn’t get the Star-Lord role in the end. This came into play in a wonderful way later when Zachary Levi was auditioning forShazam!for Peter Safran, a friend and colleague of Gunn’s. When Safran asked Gunn about Levi, Gunn recommended the actor, and this would result intheShazam!castinghappening.

“I attempt 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 continued, ‘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.”

All’s well that ends well. Zachary Levi wound up serving as a great casting choice for the lead role inShazam!. Directed by David Sandberg and featuring Levi in the lead,Shazam!was a box office success in addition to garnering positive reviews from fans and critics. Because of this success, a sequel is currently in the works with tentative plans for Levi and Dwayne Johnson to later co-star inaBlack Adamcrossover.

Shazam! Fury of the Godsis scheduled to be released in theaters on August 22, 2025.