Nathan Fillion Had No Interest in Playing This Marvel Superhero When Asked
Actor Nathan Fillion recently found himself cast in movies like The Suicide Squad and Superman: Legacy. But back before these roles, many were eager to see Fillion in superhero movies in some form. However, there was one role fans linked him to that Fillion just couldn’t see himself playing.
Why it took so long for Nathan Fillion to do a Marvel movie
It seemed it was only a matter of time before Fillion did a superhero feature. He already had good professional relationships with two filmmakers connected with Marvel movies. He worked alongside Avengers director Joss Whedon in the cult classic show Firefly. He was also good friends with Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, who he did Slither and Super with.
At the time, Fillion shared that he didn’t do a Marvel movie because he was tied up with another franchise. He was deep in the midst of his hit show Castle.
“Right now, I’m still pretty tied up with Castle,” Fillion once told IGN (via Comic Book Movie). “I have a couple of years of that to go. We’re having a great time, we’re telling some great stories and we’re enjoying it. Joss and James have done so much for me, I’m not the guy that goes knocking at their door and goes, ‘Do some more for me!’ You know what I mean? They’re doing great stuff right now and I’m having a great time right now, so I think that once I wrap up Castle, and we get a little more free time one our hands…”
But there was one Marvel role that Fillion didn’t see himself in under any circumstances. Back then, he was rumored to be Ant-Man before Paul Rudd was cast as the pint-sized superhero. Fillion was quick to shoot down the rumors.
“Yeah, if I had my choice, I would probably not pick Ant-Man. Nothing against Mr. Pym. But, no, I would not pick Ant-Man. He would not be my choice,” he said in a separate Comic Book Movie interview.
What Nathan Fillion thought about his ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ character
Fillion would finally be included in the Marvel universe by starring in Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy 3. There, he played foot soldier Master, Karja, who he knew nothing about.
“I really didn’t get the rundown. I learned his name and did a quick Google search because I’m a comic book fan, since I was a kid. When I heard his name, I said, ‘I don’t recognize that name. Is this somebody I should know?’ And there was really nothing to search. We determined that he’s a very basic security guard, basic in that he’s a small man. He’s not a nice man. He’s a petty man. He’s a little bit of power on a tiny little ant hill, but he’s the king of that particular hill, and power corrupts and now he’s a jerk. That’s him,” Fillion told Collider.
Although the set was different, Fillion asserted he had as much of a good time working with Gunn as he did years ago.
I’ll say he’s exactly the same, in the way he approaches his work. He’s very, very passionate. He honestly loves telling stories, and I love hearing them. I love stories,” he said. “I’m extremely picky about how I’m entertained, how I wanna spend my time being entertained, and how I select my entertainment. James is able to make me feel things. James is able to have emotions well up within me. James can get me invested Those things have never changed about James.”
Nathan Fillion will be teaming up with James Gunn again for ‘Superman: Legacy’
Gunn seems to have brought Fillion over from Marvel to DC. Fans briefly saw the actor portray the supervillain TDK in The Suicide Squad. But in Superman: Legacy, he’ll be playing the superhero Green Lantern.
Fillion isn’t a stranger to playing the superhero. He’s voiced the Green Lantern character Hal Jordan in a couple of animated films. But in Superman: Legacy, he’ll be playing a different Green Lantern named Guy Gardner in the ensemble piece.
