Chris Pratt got so jacked for his Marvel role that a shirtless scene for season 7 of ‘Parks and Rec’ had to be scrapped

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Chris Pratt got so jacked when he got cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that a shirtless scene from season seven of “Parks and Recreation” had to be nixed because the actor’s body no longer resembled that of his character, Andy Dwyer.

“There’s a scene that we wrote for the premiere where it called for him to take his shirt off. We realized we couldn’t do it — [he’d] look ridiculous,” Michael Schur, the sitcom’s cocreator,  previously told Rolling Stone while discussing the final season back in January 2015. “Andy is not a guy who has a perfectly constructed human form with ripped abs and gigantic biceps.”

Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord in “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Marvel Studios

The aforementioned interview, although several years old, has resurfaced ahead of the release of the book “MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios.”

The book is penned by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards, and chronicles the vast, expansive history of the famed movie studio. Quotes from various past interviews, like Schur’s, are cited throughout the book to give fans a full understanding of Marvel Studios’ evolution.   

One of the excerpts, recently published by Vanity Fair delves into how the MCU’s biggest stars were cast.

Before landing the role of a half-human, half-celestial named Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Pratt was known for playing Andy on “Parks and Rec,” the NBC sitcom that premiered in 2009.

Shortly after getting cast as Star-Lord in James Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the actor spent six months shedding his sitcom look in favor of a more muscular physique.

Chris Pratt as Andy Dwyer on season five of “Parks and Recreation.” Danny Feld/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

Pratt worked with trainer Duffy Gaver as well as nutritionist Philip Goglia, putting hours in the gym, upping his caloric intake, and drinking excessive amounts of water.

By the time Pratt made his Marvel debut in the 2014 movie, he looked like a superhero. But that also meant that Pratt appeared noticeably different when he returned to “Parks and Rec” to film the seventh season.

Schur acknowledged this challenge in his Rolling Stone interview, saying: “It’s very hard to explain why Andy Dwyer now looks like a superhero.” 

Luckily for Pratt, he didn’t have to worry about the discrepancy, because season seven also marked the conclusion of “Parks and Rec.”

Since then, Pratt has starred in Gunn’s “Guardians” trilogy and made appearances in “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Avengers: Endgame,” and “Thor: Love and Thunder.” The end of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” also teased that Pratt will return as Star-Lord in another project.