Chris Pratt leads many Hollywood franchises, but one paralleled his own life in a ‘strange, unintentional way’
Chris Pratt has starred in a number of blockbusters following his breakout role in the comedy series "Parks and Recreation."
Most recently, he voiced everyone's favorite grouchy lasagna-loving orange cat, Garfield, in "The Garfield Movie."
Prior to that, Pratt led the "Jurassic World" and "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchises, and he shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
Here's a look at some of Pratt's leading roles.
CHRIS PRATT SUFFERS INJURY ON MOVIE SET WHILE DOING HIS OWN STUNTS
Pratt's first big project after his "Parks and Recreation" fame was "Guardians of the Galaxy." The film and its two sequels are a franchise in their own right but also belong to the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe film franchise.
Audiences were first introduced to Pratt's character, Peter Quill, also known as Star-Lord, in 2014, when he formed an unlikely team to save a planet from destruction. After realizing they work well together, the Guardians continue to travel the universe, acting as its protectors. The characters were also featured in "Avengers: Infinity War," "Avengers: End-Game" and "Thor: Love and Thunder," as well as a Christmas special on Disney+.
With a popular soundtrack and on-point humor, the franchise became a huge success, with the first film making over $773 million worldwide and getting a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The third film in the series, released in May 2023, topped the first film, raking in over $845 million globally.
While the group was disbanded in the final moments of the third movie, the end credits promised fans they hadn't seen the last of Peter Quill, revealing "The Legendary Star-Lord will return."
"As ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy’ had several iterations in the comic world, I think in the film world they will remain a staple for the studio. To what degree we Guardians of the Galaxy contribute is yet to be determined, but certainly they can't give up on the franchise," Pratt told The Associated Press in May.
"I love what the tone of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ brought to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it would be a loss if they determined never to do that again, certainly," he added. "It's been one of the greatest pleasures of my life being a part of that."
Pratt's most successful film franchise in box office earnings began in 2015 with "Jurassic World," a sequel to the previously successful "Jurassic Park" trilogy. The first of the four-film franchise brought in over $1 billion at the global box office and left audiences wanting more.
The movie takes place at an amusement park featuring live dinosaurs, which have been genetically modified and enhanced to further intrigue park visitors. Things go wrong when the animals break out of their enclosures and begin to hunt down park visitors.
Pratt portrays Owen Grady, a former member of the military and an animal expert who helps the other characters escape. For various reasons, Grady returns to the island in the second movie. In the third, dinosaurs have taken control of Earth, living and hunting alongside humans everywhere.
The third movie saw the return of the franchise's original stars, Laura Dern, Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum. While a fourth "Jurassic World" movie is in the works, Pratt's statement following the release of the third film suggests he will not be involved.
"It’s 30 years in the making," Pratt told "The Today Show" in June 2022. "This is the sixth ‘Jurassic Park’ film and the end of the franchise. You’ve got the legacy cast coming back, Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, plus the cast of ‘Jurassic World.’ Our storylines converge in a way that is very much a finale."
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In his first animated movie, Pratt voiced Emmet Brickowski, an ordinary Lego construction worker who is recruited by a secret society after it concludes he is "the one" to aid in their resistance mission to take down the evil Lord Business.
Along the way, he meets the Lego versions of many DC superheros, including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, and makes friends with other Lego people in Bricksburg. The friends reunite in the second movie to save their town from alien invaders, destroying everything they hold dear.
"The first movie really paralleled my life in a really strange, unintentional way, because Emmet Brickowski [is] given the opportunity to become a hero. And, in the middle of voicing ‘The Lego Movie,’ that two-year process, I got cast in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy' and went through this body transformation, this career transformation," he told MTV News in February 2019.
"It was interesting to see how this ordinary, optimistic, lovable guy gets a chance to do something really great and is accepted as a hero."
The first movie was such a big success, it not only led the studio to approve a sequel, but also two spinoffs, one which focused on Lego Batman and the other on the popular Lego Ninjago toy line, although Pratt didn't voice characters in those movies.
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Pratt found luck in the animated movie genre once again when he voiced everyone's favorite Italian plumber, Mario, in "The Super Mario Bros. Movie."
Based on the popular Nintendo video game, the movie followed brothers Mario and Luigi as they travel through the Mushroom Kingdom on a mission to save Princess Peach from the evil Bowser.
The movie grossed over $1 billion at the global box office and featured one of the most popular songs of the year on its soundtrack. Jack Black, who voiced the villain, sang "Peaches" for the movie's soundtrack, which spells out the love he feels for Princess Peach.
The film's instant success led to the almost immediate announcement a second movie had been approved, paving the way for yet another successful franchise led by Pratt.
"Oh, man! There's so much to explore. There are decades worth of [games] to explore, not only with Mario and Peach and Donkey Kong and Luigi and Bowser and Yoshi; that was teased at the end. But it just gets me so excited," Pratt told ComicBook in May.
"[I was] thinking about how everything from ‘Legend of Zelda’ to the entire Nintendo cinematic universe could be created and what that could look like for all of these characters that I love? I mean, there's really no limit. We could talk about it for hours."
Original article source: Chris Pratt leads many Hollywood franchises, but one paralleled his own life in a ‘strange, unintentional way’
