Michael Cera Turned Down a Role as Jesse Eisenberg's Doppelgänger in 'Zombieland: Double Tap'

BY Josiah HughesPublished Oct 16, 2019

Zombieland is known for its infamous Bill Murray cameo, and while Zombieland: Double Tap certainly stacks its cast, the sequel nearly had an appearance from another dry humourist in one Michael Cera.

The Canadian actor has long been mixed up with his awkward counterpart Jesse Eisenberg, so director Ruben Fleischer tried to hire him to play Jesse's doppelgänger in the new movie.

Speaking with Den of Geek, Fleischer said, "I don't know if I should say this or not, but Michael Cera was kind of like the original person [for the role], just because Jesse and Michael are always mistaken.... I was surprised that he didn't want to do it."

Instead, Eisenberg's doppelgänger is played by Thomas Middleditch

"I mean, he's such a funny, funny guy, and an amazing improviser. And he brought something that just made it so special," Fleischer said. "It's one of my favourite moments in the whole movie, and yeah, I felt really, really lucky that it ended up being Thomas because he's just an incredible performer and brought so much comedy. And the parallels are striking. When you look at them side by side, I mean, it's really funny. Just the visual — like a weird funhouse mirror, is what Emma [Stone] says."

Zombieland: Double Tap hits theatres on Friday (October 18) — almost exactly a decade after the original film, which was released on October 2, 2009. Watch the film's trailer below.

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