Zoe Saldana Says She’ll Never Return To Her Best Franchise Because Filming Was Terrible
Zoe Saldana has had her fair share of franchise roles over the years from her travels into the farthest reaches of space in Star Trek to her … well … other travels into the farthest reaches of space in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy series. But, there’s one journey she’s never going to go on again, and that’s aboard a ship on the high seas in another installment in Pirates of the Caribbean. During a recent chat with Buzzfeed UK, the Avatar franchise favorite revealed why she didn’t return for sequels and won’t, should she be asked back in the future.
“It was too big of a machine for me, and it was too out of control.”
Zoe Saldana on Pirates of the Caribbean
For those who may need a refresher, Zoe Saldana appeared in the film that started it all, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl as a pirate named Anamarie, the ex-owner of the ship that Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow stole before sinking it as he pulled into Port Royal harbor.
While she reflects on the “great movie” and how she was proud to be part of “such a diverse cast,” she says that because the making of it all “was just so big,” it became overwhelming for her. “It was too big of a machine for me, and it was too out of control,” Saldana explains.
While she was “very proud” of the final outcome and how everything played out on the big screen, Zoe Saldana is confident when she says, “I don’t ever want to go back.” Technically, she says, “I was only asked to be part of one… and then that was it,” so while the Guardians of the Galaxy actress may not want to go back, it doesn’t seem as though Disney has a further place for her character in any upcoming installments.
At the end of the day, Saldana is certain that “it [Pirates of the Caribbean] was definitely an experience not worth repeating.”
She’s completely fine with this, though, as she admits that there would have been “a lot of politics that you would have had to navigate” should she have returned as Anamarie.
And, Zoe Saldana is thrilled for her co-stars who “went off to have amazing careers,” something she said she’s “followed” and “felt really inspired” by as the franchise grew into more and more films over the years. But, at the end of the day, Saldana is certain that “it was definitely an experience not worth repeating.”
While Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl wasn’t the feature-length debut for the actress – that honor goes to the classic dance drama, Center Stage – it was up there with titles including the Britney Spears-led Crossroads and Drumline, titles that would help launch her now decades-spanning career.
Zoe Saldana After Pirates
Directly following her time as a swashbuckler in the Gore Verbinski-helmed feature, Zoe Saldana would be cast in Steven Spielberg’s The Terminal with other major castings coming by way of films such as Guess Who and Vantage Point.
To look at the rest of Zoe Saldana’s career and think back on her anxiety-filled time on The Curse of the Black Pearl, it’s interesting that the star cites the massiveness as the production for her reason for not wanting to repeat the experience.
With her ongoing role in James Cameron’s big-budget and physically demanding Avatar franchise, as well as her role as Gamora throughout a plethora of Marvel movies, one would think that these, too, would be a touch too far for the actress’s capacity on what constitutes as too big a project.
As of right now, Zoe Saldaña has left those big-screen blockbusters behind and can currently be seen on Taylor Sheridan’s latest series, Special Ops: Lioness.
