Bradley Cooper Wanted A Marvel Star To Headline American Sniper Instead

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

When Clint Eastwood made a movie about the Iraq War, based on the life of the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history, it was bound to court controversy. 2014's "American Sniper" told the story of real-life Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), who, after being deployed to Iraq, earns the nickname "Legend" for his elite sniping skills. Unfortunately, as the film shows, the enemy soon learns of the "legend" in their midst, which essentially places a big target on Kyle's back. 

Insurgents aren't the only challenge he faces. Throughout "American Sniper" we're shown Kyle's experiences in war alongside his life back in the US. His wife, Taya (Sienna Miller), and two children wait for their father to return even as he becomes increasingly focused on his life as a soldier.

The accuracy of "American Sniper" has been called into question, mostly because it's based on Kyle's autobiography of the same name, which prompted controversy itself when it was first published. The late soldier, who was killed by ex-Marine Eddie Ray Routh at a Texas shooting range in 2013, was accused of embellishing the truth about his experiences in Iraq and exaggerating elements of the story, including his military record. These same criticisms were leveled against Eastwood's movie, alongside the charge that the filmmaker had produced a simple puff piece on Kyle and misrepresented the complexity of the Iraq War.

Regardless, "American Sniper" was a success by every other measure. It became the biggest January movie ever at the box office, grossing $547.6 million worldwide. The film landed six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Actor for Cooper. It only won for Best Sound Editing, but clearly the movie made an impact, and it's hard to argue that Cooper didn't give one of his best performances in the lead role. With that in mind, it's funny to think that the "Maestro" star initially wanted another Marvel actor to play Kyle: his "Guardians of the Galaxy" co-star Chris Pratt.

Clint Eastwood was no stranger to controversy when "American Sniper" debuted. Back in 1971, he faced similar criticism for "Dirty Harry," which was accused of being a love letter to police brutality. Being told off for making a war movie uncritical of the U.S. government was just par for the course. But even most critics who weren't fond of what they saw as Eastwood's jingoistic paean to American military might still had to admit that Bradley Cooper was great in the film. In his Chicago Sun-Times review, Richard Roeper wrote that "Cooper gives maybe the best performance of his career," and Bill Goodykoontz of the Arizona Republic wrote, "It is to Cooper's credit — and Eastwood's — that Kyle does not come off as a lunk-headed cartoon hero." Despite the controversy surrounding "American Sniper," then, the movie was a hit and Cooper was one of the main reasons why.

But it seems if he'd have had his way during casting, he wouldn't have appeared in the movie at all. Back in 2012, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Warner Bros. had acquired the rights to Chris Kyle's "American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History," and that Bradley Cooper was attached to produce through his 22nd & Indiana company. The outlet also reported that Cooper was likely to star in the film, but it seems at the time the actor was considering other leading men.

In a Los Angeles Times interview, Cooper talked about his thought process while developing "American Sniper" prior to Kyle's death in 2013. "At that time [before Kyle died] I felt I wasn't right for the role," he said. "Look at me, I'm from Philadelphia, I weigh 185 pounds. He was a huge [guy] from Texas." Who did Cooper have in mind? Chris Pratt. The "Guardians of the Galaxy" star evidently had what it took to play a hulking Navy Seal, at least in Cooper's estimation. But it seems Pratt was never really in with a chance, with Cooper revealing, "in order to get [Warner Bros.] to buy, I had to agree to star. I loved the story, though."

After agreeing to front "American Sniper," Bradley Cooper remained "fearful," telling the Los Angeles Times, "There's nothing worse than seeing an actor pretend he's from Texas, doing an accent. You're like, oh, shut the ... up. The hope is, two minutes into the movie you forget it's me." Clearly, everything worked out with Cooper in the lead role, with the film becoming a critical and commercial success even while it faced a significant backlash.

Meanwhile, Pratt was free to play the role that made him a movie star. The same year that "American Sniper" debuted, Pratt played Peter Quill/Star-Lord in "Guardians of the Galaxy" and established himself as a major star. Cooper also had a role in the movie, as the voice of Rocket Raccoon. While he didn't play Rocket on set, he did get to hang out with Pratt and the other cast members on the press tours for the "Guardians" movies.

Would things have been the same had Pratt fronted the Chris Kyle biopic? It's obviously impossible to say, but it's clear that "Guardians of the Galaxy" was the perfect movie for Pratt, and Peter Quill the perfect role, giving the actor the chance to showcase his sense of humor alongside his dramatic abilities. He wouldn't have been able to so as Chris Kyle in Eastwood's somber war movie, so it seems everything worked the way it should have.