Thanks to a starring role in Guardians Of The Galaxy, the 42-year-old actress has become one of biggest stars in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but, interestingly, Zoe Saldana was almost cast as one of DC’s most famous characters – Lois Lane – in Man of Steel.
When Zack Snyder kicked off the DC Extended Universe six years ago with Man Of Steel, fans were introduced to Henry Cavill as Superman and Amy Adams as Lois Lane.
According to Snyder, however, Saldana was also in the running for the part. The director made the revelation during an in-depth interview with Comic Book Debate.
“At a time, it was between Adams and Zoe Saldana. They’re totally different, but their presence is super strong.”
In the end, Snyder preferred Adams and shared one of her key contributions to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
“Amy actually inspired that opening scene in Batman v Superman. She mentioned journalists who have been in war zones and we went along with it.”
Snyder didn’t elaborate further on what Zoe Saldana’s version of Lois Lane would’ve been like in Man of Steel.
If he had picked her, Zoe Saldana would have been the first actress of African descent to play Lois Lane on screen. It would definitely have been a massive change to the source material, but not necessarily a deal-breaker. Lois is usually depicted as a very strong woman and there’s no reason why she can’t be portrayed by a woman of any ethnicity.
In hindsight, it might seem like a lost opportunity but at the time the actress was already part of two iconic franchises – as Neytiri in Avatar and Lt. Uhura in the Star Trek reboot.
Most importantly, if she had landed the role as Lois Lane, she probably wouldn’t have been available to play Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy. So, in retrospect, things worked out very well for Zoe Saldana.
Meanwhile, the future of Lois Lane in the DCEU remains uncertain as Amy Adams has publicly stated that she doesn’t think she’ll play the character again.
