Joel Edgerton recalls disastrous Guardians of the Galaxy audition

Joel Edgerton has recalled his disastrous audition for Guardians of the Galaxy, admitting he didn’t “understand the role”.

The 49-year-old Australian actor and filmmaker has appeared in a number of high-profile movies and TV shows, and was in the running to add the Marvel franchise to his list of credits.

Chris Pratt was eventually cast in the role of Peter Quill, who becomes superhero Star-Lord in the first instalment of the franchise, which was released in 2014.

“Star-Lord’s a good one, actually, because I, unlike Chris, didn’t quite sort of understand the tone of it the way he did and the way that those guys did and I wasn’t really sure how I could be a part of that tone,” the Great Gatsby star told Entertainment Weekly.

“And I truly think that the world is a much better place, I’m not Star-Lord, even if I had the opportunity or I did a good enough audition, because it is the way it’s meant to be. There was never a real conversation that it would have definitely been me.

“It was just I had the opportunity to try and audition. I just didn’t quite understand it.”

Meanwhile, Pratt chose to call out the press in a speech to the cast and crew after filming wrapped on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, the film’s third and final instalment.

Previously, the actor was known for playing unemployed slacker Andy Dwyer on the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation.

When Guardians of the Galaxy was first announced, many critics predicted that the movie could be Marvel’s “first flop” due to its lack of A-list talent and relatively unknown characters.

“I’m not a vindictive person… but I happened to have in my notes file several press clippings saved from the first movie when everyone predicted that Guardians of the Galaxy was going to be Marvel’s first flop,” Pratt said in a joint interview with his co-star Karen Gillan with Fandango.

“That was the consensus critically. Everyone was saying all of these negative things. At the time, we were insecure and nervous about the prospects… I remember all of that.”

The Independent‘s chief film critic Clarisse Loughrey, called the final instalment of the movie, “the best Marvel movie in years”.