Zoe Saldaña Was Afraid of Being Typecast in Sci-Fi Movies After ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’

Zoe Saldaña once opened up about why she thought starring in another sci-fi film like ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ might’ve been a bad career move.

Films like Guardians of the Galaxy and James Cameron’s Avatar franchise gave actor Zoe Saldaña a reputation for doing sci-fi movies. And initially, it was a reputation she wasn’t sure would do well for her career.

Zoe Saldaña almost turned down ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ to avoid being typecast

By the time Saldaña was considered for Guardians of the Galaxy, she had quite the resume doing space features. She was coming off of films like Avatar and Star Trek, and she was concerned Guardians of the Galaxy would’ve been more of the same.

“I don’t know how to say no to these filmmakers. First I booked Avatar, and as I was shooting that, J.J. Abrams was getting ready to do Star Trek. And those collaborations got the attention of James Gunn,” Saldaña once said according to Female First. “I really didn’t want to say yes because this was the third sci-fi film I’d be doing, and I was afraid it might not be great for my career.”

However, she was quickly convinced to do Guardians of the Galaxy, as a gut feeling told her it was the right decision to make.

“But I got the sense that I would be missing out on something so incredibly special that I said yes,” she said.

It appears her instincts might’ve been correct. Her role in Guardians of the Galaxy led to deeper roles in its sequels, Avengers Infinity War and End Game. It also led to her starring in two multi-billion dollar franchises. Like Avatar, the Marvel movies were known for breaking box-office records. Having been in both Avatar and Endgame, she’s starred in the top two highest grossing films of all time.

Zoe Saldaña felt that sci-fi movies gave her the chance to play real characters

Although she was hesitant at first to be known for sci-fi movies, they soon became Saldaña favorite sub genre to star in. Which made sense since she was always a fan of the genre.

“I grew up in a sci-fi environment and am a huge sci-fi fanatic so Ripley [Alien] and Sarah Connor [Terminator] are some of my favorite characters of all time,” Saldaña once told Trek Movie. “I am driven toward women who are very strong and commanding and kick alien ass and all that stuff, and also kiss aliens. I would say Blade Runner, and The Hunger, which is one of Tony Scott’s first films. I saw it when I was very young, I think I saw it when I was nine or ten, I fell completely in love with the movie. It felt completely dark and hopeless because these people were eternally condemned and unable to love. And Blade Runner, I knew watching Blade Runner, and Dune, that I wasn’t old enough to understand the concept. But the fact that I was to grow older and be able to one day look at it and go ‘I get this now’ was so exciting to me at the age of five.”

Being in her own sci-fi films not only gave the Nina star the chance to do similar movies, but to play more fulfilling roles.

“If I wasn’t doing these sci-fi movies, I would be at the mercy of filmmakers that would just look my way if they need a girlfriend or sexy woman of color in their movie,” she once told CNET. “Space is different…but we can still do better. We can still give women more weight to carry in their roles.”

Zoe Saldaña admitted to feeling stuck after ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Avatar’

Saldaña’s last two sci-fi franchises required a lot of commitment. And although they offered hefty paydays, they did leave her feeing a bit stunted artistically.

“I’m very grateful for the opportunities that they provided, from collaborating with amazing directors and getting to meet cast members that I consider friends and getting to play a role that fans, especially children, love,” Saldaña once told WWD. “But it also meant that I felt artistically stuck in my craft of not being able to expand or grow or challenge myself by playing different sorts of genres and different roles. So this is something that I wanted to do for a very long time.”

Saldaña is still connected to the Avatar series. But her run in Guardians of the Galaxy seemed to conclude with Vol. 3. Perhaps this means the actor still has room left to pursue the types of roles that would be creatively fulfilling.