The Harry Potter movies are full of stars. It’s hard to watch a single frame of the franchise without someone notable popping up. Despite an influx of big names, however, the focus is never on the actors behind the makeup and fantastical outfits. All eight Harry Potter movies focus on a story of good versus evil and how a group of kids figure into the conflict. The franchise is so successful that it has its own spinoff series, Fantastic Beasts, which follows a peculiar wizard, Newt Scamander, who ends up in a tough spot after crossing paths with the evil Gellert Grindelwald.
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Despite taking place in the same world as Harry Potter, the Fantastic Beasts movies struggle to find their footing. The cast of the films isn’t really to blame, though, as it features heavy hitters like Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, and Zoë Kravitz. Another movie star had an opportunity to join them, but they backed out due to understandable concerns.
While promoting Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme on The Louis Theroux Podcast (via Variety), Scott Pilgrim vs. The World‘s Michael Cera revealed that he was approached about a role in the Fantastic Beasts movies and didn’t have a positive reaction.
“I don’t even know if I was offered, I think I just declined to engage with it because I think it would be like probably six years commitment or something,” Cera said. “But also, I did sort of make a conscientious choice to limit my exposure a little bit, or just try and be a little more in control of it. And I felt like doing, especially little kids’ movies, I had a big fear of doing things that I would get too famous.”
Cera admitted that he doesn’t feel the same way all these years later after starring in massive projects like Barbie and would be open to joining a franchise that he thought had a lot going for it.
“I think I’ve outgrown that particular feeling, but I think that’s what that was at that time,” he explained. “But if a franchise came along now and seemed interesting, I don’t think on the grounds of it being a franchise I would storm out of the office or anything.”
Michael Cera’s Franchise Days Are Still Ahead of Him
Since Cera didn’t get very far into conversations with Warner Bros., he may not even know what role he was being eyed for in Fantastic Beasts. The easy answer is that he was up for Newt since he’s all about portraying wacky characters. However, the series also featured an American character, Jacob Kowalski, who would have allowed Cera to flex his acting muscles with more serious material.
Losing out on a role in a lackluster trilogy doesn’t mean Cera will never get another call about a franchise. After all, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still going strong, while the DC Universe is just getting its legs underneath it. And Cera isn’t knocking the idea of playing a comic book character again, telling Theroux, “A superhero who is a big fan of dairy, I could play.”
Homelander has cornered the market when it comes to a hero loving milk, but a character who appreciates cheese is still in play for Cera. DC happens to have one named Little Cheese, who is part of the superhero group Zoo Crew. It’s unclear if the team is on James Gunn’s radar, but he and Cera seem like a match made in heaven, and if all it takes is bringing a mouse superhero to life to make it happen, they should pull the trigger.
Would you have liked to have seen Michael Cera in the Fantastic Beasts movies? What other franchise fits him? Let us know in the comments below!
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