There’s a scene in Zombieland: Double Tap where Jesse Eisenberg’s Columbus and Woody Harrelson’s Tallahassee bump into their doppelgangers, played in the film by Thomas Middleditch and Luke Wilson. It plays like a nice nod to a similar moment in Shaun Of The Dead.

Middleditch, who plays a comedic version of a tech start-up CEO in HBO’s Silicon Valley, is pitch-perfect casting as the mirror image of Columbus, especially when you remember Eisenberg’s star-making turn as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network. However, as we learned in an interview with Zombieland: Double Tap director Ruben Fleischer, the role of Eisenberg’s doppelganger was originally earmarked for another impeccable actor when it comes to awkwardness: a certain Superbad star by the name of Michael Cera.

“I don’t know if I should say this or not,” Fleischer confided, “but Michael Cera was kind of like the original person [for that role], just because Jesse and Michael are always mistaken. And I was surprised that he didn’t want to do it.”

Fleischer went on to stress that Middleditch is great for the part: “But Thomas is perfect,” the director enthused. “I mean, he’s such a funny, funny guy, and an amazing improviser. And he brought something that just made it so special.”