Instead of George Clooney floating away in space and leaving Sandra Bullock to fend for herself, imagine it's Robert Downey Jr. who abandons Angelina Jolie.
That's what "Gravity" would have looked like had director Alfonso Cuaron's original casting choices stuck. Cuaron reminded us of this fact during the new interview series "The Hollywood Masters," moderated by Hollywood Reporter features editor Stephen Galloway. Jolie dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts with her directorial debut, "In The Land of Blood and Honey," while Downey Jr. exited because the film's technology didn't leave him room to improvise.
Production on "Gravity" hadn't started by the time Jolie and Downey Jr. changed their minds, leaving time to send offers to Bullock and Clooney.
"It became very clear that, as we started to nail the technology, or narrow the technology, that was going to be a big obstacle for [Downey Jr.'s] performance," Cuaron said. "I think Robert is fantastic if you give him the freedom to completely breathe and improvise and change stuff. [But] we tried one of these technologies and it was not compatible. And, after that, we [had a] week that we pretended as if nothing was happening and then we talked and said, 'This is not going to work. This is tough.'"
What do you think "Gravity" would have looked like with Jolie and Downey Jr. instead? Tell us in the comments, then head to THR to watch Cuaron discuss "Gravity" casting as well as his thoughts on J.K. Rowling's recent revelation that it was a mistake to have Hermione marry Ron.