Brie Larson Recalls Auditions For Star Wars, Plus The Weird Reason She Didn’t Land Terminator Genisys

Brie Larson in Captain Marvel

Auditioning is an inherent part of being an actor; unless you’ve become astoundingly successful and are being offered roles left and right, then you’ll have to prove to casting people that you’re a good fit to play a certain character. However, oftentimes auditions don’t work out, and Captain Marvel actress Brie Larson recently recalled her failed attempts to score parts in the Star Wars and Terminator franchises.

Regarding the latter franchise, Brie Larson auditioned for the role of Sarah Connor in 2015’s Terminator Genisys, but she didn’t score that role simply because the casting people thought she couldn’t properly hold a gun. Larson explained:

Terminator, I tested for it. When I was pulling into the audition for it, I got a flat tire. I did my audition a couple days later and found out I didn’t get it. And I got no feedback whatsoever other than just, ‘No.’ It wasn’t gonna happen. I was always like, ‘Why didn’t I get that?’ I felt like I did a really good job and didn’t understand. And then, like months later, my manager called and was like, ‘Listen, we got the feedback finally. And what it was was they said they they didn’t think that you knew how to carry a gun.’ And I was like, ‘K, that would make sense if I carried a gun in the audition.’ I never held a gun. I mean, I’m grateful because I don’t want to hold a gun in a movie, but I just thought it was funny that in their head they thought I couldn’t hold a gun, so I didn’t get the job.

Game of ThronesEmilia Clarke ended up playing Terminator Genisys’ version of Sarah Connor, but fortunately for Brie Larson, she still had an eventful 2015, as she appeared in Trainwreck and Room. In fact, things arguably worked out better for Larson not appearing in the fifth Terminator installment, as that ended up critically and commercially underperforming, and the actress would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for her Room performance.

Moving to Star Wars, Brie Larson previously mentioned that she’d auditioned for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, but she also tried to get in on all the Disney-era Star Wars movies; alas, none of that worked out, among other failed auditions. In Larson’s words:

I didn’t get Gossip Girl, and I’m really glad. I auditioned for Hunger Games and I didn’t get it. I auditioned for Tomorrowland and I didn’t get it. I auditioned for all of the new Star Wars movies and I didn’t get it. I don’t even know why I’m saying I didn’t get it. Like, you know I didn’t.

The above comments were made in Brie Larson’s latest YouTube video, where she talked about the auditioning process, something she’s been doing since she was seven years old. Given how last year’s Terminator: Dark Fate also failed to impress at the box office, one shouldn’t expect new Terminator movies anytime soon (or at all), so Larson likely missed her chance at getting to take part in that franchise. As for Star Wars, well, Larson has made it clear she’d still love to show up in a galaxy far, far away, so maybe she’ll have better luck in the future on that front.

But enough about Brie Larson’s lost roles. What about her successes? While, along with the aforementioned Room, Larson also currently stars in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel, who debuted in her own solo movie in March 2019, returned less than two months later for Avengers: Endgame and has a sequel lined up. Larson’s other notable credits from recent years include Kong: Skull Island, The Glass Castle, Unicorn Store and Just Mercy.

We here at CinemaBlend will keep you updated on Brie Larson’s professional endeavors. For now, Captain Marvel 2 is scheduled for July 8, 2022, and look through our Marvel movies guide to learn what else the MCU has coming down the creative pipeline.

Adam Holmes
Senior Content Producer

Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.