As the actor promoted his new science fiction-thriller film Mercy, which is going to be released in theaters on January 23, 2026, Chris Pratt was candid about one of the most turbulent periods in his life as a Hollywood actor, when the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise was almost derailed by the dismissal of the film’s director, James Gunn, by Walt Disney in 2018.
Appearing as a guest on Josh Horowitz’s “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, Pratt revealed previously unknown information regarding how he felt about Gunn’s firing due to old tweets and an especially frank message he had sent to Marvel Studios’ brass at that particular moment.
Pratt revealed recollections of the time he heard the news of Disney opting out of the film due to the decision they made regarding the firing of Gunn. While his co-stars, like Dave Bautista, openly expressed their dismay over the situation, Pratt took a different approach.
“This is not over”
“I remember talking to Lou Esposito [Marvel Studios Co-President]… and I told him, ‘You’re making a mistake. You are making a mistake. You can’t. No, you can’t,’” Pratt said. “He was like, ‘Dude, it has to happen.’ But I told him this is not over.”
As Pratt recalled, the months that followed were a time of stunned disbelief, rather than protest, as people came to grips with the reality of the decision, which I termed “shocking,” spending that period “praying on it and strategizing,” as he was sure that ultimately the decision would be reversed.
This was after the studio rehired Gunn to finish off the trilogy in 2019. According to Pratt, Gunn got his job back through the intervention of Disney’s then-Studio Chairman, Alan Horn. “It was truly unfair, and he got that job back because it was a glaring mistake to ever fire him,” he stated.
As Gunn is now established as co-chair and creative head of DC Studios from 2022 alongside Peter Safran, speculation ran rampant about the possibility of Pratt joining the rival superhero universe with his longtime partner. In response to the rumors, Pratt used humor to tell the tale of how serious the speculation never was.
Pratt revealed that in a bid to audition for a role in a movie directed by Gunn, he Photoshopped a picture of himself wearing a Batman mask and sent it directly to Gunn as a “little aggressive” audition. His reaction to this audition from Pratt, said Pratt, was “Haha.”
The actor used the story to definitively shut down the notion of him playing the cowl. “I think it’s safe to say I’m not going to be Batman,” Pratt said. “I don’t know how to play that… Christian Bale’s voice is now self-parody. You’d have to do a brand new Mickey Mouse voice or something. I don’t want to do it anyways!”
The conversation also touched on Pratt’s pre-Star-Lord period, during which he saw superhero stardom repeatedly fall through his fingers. Before he landed the part that would change his career, he tried out, albeit unsuccessfully, for other major superhero roles based on comic books.
He remembered submitting a self-tape audition for Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel from his mother’s place in Washington State. “I would not cast that guy as Superman.” He auditioned for the part of Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger, but did not even get a callback. He then auditioned for a supporting part playing one of Thor’s Warriors Three. Pratt “went so big” on that audition that the casting director said that he was really excited about the part before telling him that he wasn’t going forward with the audition.
While the ending of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 serves as a conclusive ending to the team’s arc, Pratt has confirmed that the story of Peter’s life is by no means over. The final title card at the very end of the film read that “The Legendary Star-Lord Will Return,” and Pratt has confirmed that the statement was not just a hollow gesture.
He claims he is “100%” coming back and has pitched an idea he described as “f— great” to Marvel Studios about the next installment of Peter Quill. He believes the emotional fallout of his breakup with his alternate universe version of Gamora, played by Zoe Saldaña, is the way to go.
