We saw Brad Pitt kick ass in his Oscar-winning performance as stuntman Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Now we'll see Pitt perform his own stunts again in the summer’s blockbuster film Bullet Train, which features a star-studded cast including Aaron-Taylor Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry, Michael Shannon, Sandra Bullock, and more. Did you know, though, that music sensation and actress Lady Gaga was was originally going to appear in this action-packed film too? Now we finally know why Lady Gaga missed out on being in Brad Pitt’s Bullet Train.
It can be very challenging for an actor when there are multiple film projects handed to you with little time to complete them. Bullet Train’s filmmaker David Leitch spoke to Entertainment Weekly about how Lady Gaga was originally supposed to be in Bullet Train, but her schedule was conflicting with her first movie post-A Star is Born, House of Gucci. Leitch explained:
It really all came down to her schedule with the Ridley [Scott] film. There were short discussions and then, this isn't going to work because she was preparing for the Ridley movie [House of] Gucci. They shot right before us and overlapped with us and it really didn't work.
Lady Gaga’s film debut in A Star is Born snagged her a lot of attention during the awards season that year, including winning a Critic’s Choice Award for Best Actress and an Oscar for Best Song. Even if critics found too many campy elements in House of Gucci and didn't consider it one of Ridley Scott’s better works, various reviews did praise Lady Gaga’s performance, and she seemed to have a positive reaction to the film, so I guess there were no regrets made there.
The Bullet Train trailer is about how Brad Pitt’s character, Ladybug, wants to escape the life of an assassin. However, he is pulled in by his handler to retrieve a briefcase on a bullet train without realizing there are a number of assassins on board with the same objective. Which role was Lady Gaga originally supposed to play? Some reports have said it was for the role of the handler, who is now played by Sandra Bullock, but Leitch would prefer to “leave that a mystery.” It looks like Lady Gaga traded one crime film for another, but I feel like she might have had a lot fun working alongside Brad Pitt in Bullet Train.
Hollywood is not done with Lady Gaga. Her singing was featured at the end of Top Gun: Maverick with a music video to follow for her song "Hold My Hand." Hopefully, we can continue to see Lady Gaga’s acting talent shine on-screen playing a number of diverse roles. Even if you can picture what Marvel characters Lady Gaga would be perfect for, we already have so many actors switching over to Marvel. Let’s have Lady Gaga shine in her own light, such as possibly the next James Bond villain? We shall see what the future holds for this award-grabbing artist.
Even though Lady Gaga will not be present, be sure to watch the rest of Bullet Train's cast when the upcoming film travels to theaters on August 5th.
