Roles Brie Larson Lost Before Becoming Captain Marvel
Brie Larson is only in her 30s, but she's spent more than two of her decades on Earth acting, singing, and taking her career on an upward ride to A-list status. The last decade has been especially fruitful. Playing Toni Collette's daughter on Showtime's ended-too-soon United States of Tara helped with her climb. Of course, capturing the Best Actress Oscar in 2016 for her riveting work in Room didn't hurt matters.
Joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe to take the mantle of Captain Marvel was a solid move, and saw the character leaving a solid impact on the MCU from her own standalone adventure through Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. As Marvel closes the Infinity Saga and leads viewers into the next phases of its blockbuster franchise, Larson's incredibly powerful character is poised to play a major role.
While that situation has clearly worked out well for Larson, not every audition has panned out as she'd hoped. As Larson has revealed via videos posted to her YouTube channel, she's auditioned for a number of major parts that she didn't end up getting. Here's a look back at the roles Brie Larson lost before becoming Captain Marvel.
Jyn Erso - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
If Brie Larson had any sad feelings about missing out on the chance to join the Star Wars franchise as Jyn Erso in Rogue One, it's safe to say that her success in uniting with the MCU probably assisted in easing that sting.
The Jyn Erso role was played instead by Felicity Jones, who, like Larson, started her acting career as a child. The two have other parallels. The year before Larson took home the Oscar, Jones was a Best Actress nominee for her performance in The Theory of Everything, about the life of physicist Stephen Hawking. Jones' co-star Eddie Redmayne took the statue home that night, as Best Actor.
The story is the first in the Star Wars anthology series, which later expanded to include 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story, and it takes place just before the original Star Wars blockbuster, focusing on the efforts of a group of Rebels attempting to steal the plans for the Death Star. Brie Larson didn't get to help destroy the super-weapon of the Galactic Empire, but she did get a chance years later to tell Rogue One writer Gary Whitta about losing out.
Wendy Darling - Peter Pan
This movie version of the classic novel about the boy that didn't want to grow up came out in 2003. Its box office take proved a disappointment given its massive budget, but a lot of young actors auditioned for the role of Peter Pan's friend Wendy, including Brie Larson, Kristen Stewart, and Emma Roberts.
Instead of getting to be Wendy and go on fantasy adventures with the childlike Pan, Larson went and got herself a record deal.
After losing the role to Rachel Hurd-Wood, she penned the song "Invisible Girl," Record executive Tommy Mottola heard the track and signed her to his label. She released a full-length record called Finally Out of P.E., about which she now says, "I wish it didn't exist." Relatable. Who doesn't have a few youthful endeavors they'd like to erase?
Even though that release finds her looking back with a cringe, music has long been a part of Larson's career, and it's a passion she still pursues. She's posted a bunch of YouTube videos covering songs written by some of her favorite musicians, including artists such as Ariana Grande and Taylor Swift.
Maybe Larson finally had her desire to play Wendy sated when her 21 Jump Street character, Molly, held the role in a school play.
Katniss Everdeen - Hunger Games
Jennifer Lawrence knocked the role of Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games franchise out of the park. Still, it would have been interesting to see how Brie Larson would have portrayed the resilient and tireless Everdeen if she had received the opportunity to "volunteer as tribute." It probably didn't hurt Lawrence that she'd already showed her battle skills playing Mystique in X-Men: First Class.
These days, Larson is no stranger to prepping for an intensely physical role. Her training to play Captain Marvel included long days at the gym, intense strength-training exercises, and pushing a Jeep. If she'd been given the chance, it's safe to say she would have risen to the Katniss challenge ripped and ready to go.
The drive and compassion that fueled her character's way through Room would also have been exciting to see as Everdeen, who needed as much mental power as physical strength to get through the Hunger Games' reality-TV-style battle to the death. She had to have been disappointed to lose out on the role, but it's hard to argue with the eventual results.
Sarah Connor - Terminator: Genisys
It's impossible to talk about the action movies of the 1980s without giving The Terminator a hefty chunk of the conversation. Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in the title role, playing a cyborg assassin sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor (played by Linda Hamilton).
In Terminator: Genisys, an attempted reboot of the flagging franchise, a soldier is again sent from the future to deal with Sarah Connor — but this time around, he's trying to prevent her death. Schwarzenegger reprised his role in this rejuvenated version.
The beloved original spawned a legion of fans, a film franchise, and assorted spinoffs on various media. It's no wonder Brie Larson was among the stars vying to play Connor in the movie. Ultimately, Emilia Clarke — a.k.a. Daenerys Targaryen — got the job. Critics weren't blown away by Genisys, and the film's disappointing box office take led to the franchise being rebooted yet again with 2019's Terminator: Dark Fate.
Larson has talked about getting a flat tire on the way to the audition; she's probably happy to keep that day in the back of her memory bank.
Juno MacGuff and Leah - Juno
Ellen Page totally owned the lead role of Juno MacGuff in Diablo Cody's 2007 comedy Juno. She tackled teenage pregnancy and made it funny without losing its complicated, delicate components.
In the movie, Juno finds herself pregnant after a one-time romp with her geeky high school boyfriend, Paulie Bleeker, played to nerdy perfection by Michael Cera. She decides to go the adoption route and connects with a suburban couple played by Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman.
Brie Larson has proved her ability to get laughs throughout her career and surely would have been able to bring her own distinctive sharp wit and cynical humor to the role, given a chance. She was also considered for the part of Leah, Juno's best friend, and didn't score there either. Not getting cast in this one left Larson admittedly "devastated." In a dual interview with one of her close friends, fellow actor Shailene Woodley, Larson later discussed her disappointment.
Tracy Freeland - Thirteen
The critically acclaimed drama Thirteen is a must-see for viewers wanting an empathetic, clear-eyed look at the complex world of teenage girls. The semi-autobiographical movie was co-written by Nikki Reed, who played the antagonist Evie to Evan Rachel Wood's Tracy.
Wanting to fit in, honor student Tracy follows Evie into her much less stable life, which includes episodes of sex, drugs, and thievery. Evie even worms her way into living at Tracy's home and manipulating Tracy's mom, played by Holly Hunter, who was nothing short of compelling.
Along with Juno, this was a hard loss for Brie Larson. It makes sense. Thirteen came out in 2003, making Larson a young teenager herself when she auditioned to play Tracy. Though she was an acting veteran by then, that's still a young age to process that type of rejection — most teens don't have careers with such high stakes.
Pregnant Woman at Airport - Bridesmaids
One of the most quotable blockbuster comedies in recent memory, Bridesmaids stars Maya Rudolph as a woman getting married — prompting all sorts of hilarious upheaval in the life of her depressed best friend, played by Kristen Wiig. The star-studded cast also features Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Jon Hamm, Wendi McClendon Covey, Ellie Kemper, Rebel Wilson, and Jill Clayburgh, all of whom contribute their own laughs to the uproarious proceedings.
Larson went out for the role of a nameless pregnant woman who was set to appear in an airport scene — and she landed it. Unfortunately, the character ended up being written out of the script as production wore on. Kudos to Larson, for nailing the audition anyway, considering it was with writer and director Judd Apatow, who doesn't have actors come in and read scripted material — instead, he asks them to create the content to use at the audition. Larson was nervous about that process and said the character she fashioned was born out of anxiety in the waiting room.