Marvel Studios has been well and truly known to pump out entertaining, yet well-crafted movie adaptations of their beloved comics over the years, creating blockbuster hit after blockbuster hit.
What’s arguably made recent these movies as captivating as they are is perhaps the ingenious creation of a shared universe, where each movie and its characters are tied to one another in some way.
Fanboys and fangirls alike are definitely on the edge of their seat for Infinity War, the movie that finally brings this “universe” together, where every one of our beloved heroes is set to all share one action-packed moment on the big screen.
We also owe the success of this Marvel Cinematic Universe to the incredibly talented actors who have been cast to play such iconic roles – who else would have brought the arrogant, sardonic Tony Stark to life better than Robert Downey Jr.? Who could beat the loveable, goofy charm of Chris Pratt as comically animated Star-Lord?
While it can be hard to picture these popular characters with another famous face, there were several other A-Listers who almost beat these guys to the part, or who nearly scored their very own character to revive in the Marvel ‘verse.
In celebration of the studio’s knockout of a movie franchise, here’s a list we compiled on “what could’ve been,” featuring actors who almost made it into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
With that said, here are the 15 A-Listers Who Were Almost Cast In Marvel Movies.
15. Anne Hathaway – Black Cat
The third installment of the now-classic Sam Raimi adaptation of Spider-Man left many fans less-than-satisfied with how much of its story played out, with criticisms on the movie’s cluttered mishmash of villains, storylines, and romantic mishaps.
It turns out that the director himself was also quite his own disappointed critic, admitting that he was “very unhappy” with the final product of Spider-Man 3, and that he was working on a fourth movie that would be “the best Spider-Man of them all.”
Amidst the progress of this latest chapter, Raimi had called onto Anne Hathaway to play Felicia Hardy, aka the sultry yet scheming anti-hero Black Cat.
Sadly for Raimi, being unable to meet Sony’s deadline for a movie draft caused the studio to drop the project altogether.
Things didn’t turn out too bad for Hathaway, however, as she went on to star as Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises.
14. Emily Blunt – Black Widow
Being the prolific actress that she is, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine Emily Blunt as the strong-willed spy and assassin Black Widow.
In an interview with Vulture, Blunt revealed that she was previously approached by studios to play Natasha Romanoff and even Agent Peggy Carter of the Captain America movies series.
However, she had to sadly turn down the offers due to scheduling conflicts with her other movie projects.
As we all know, Romanoff’s role eventually went to Scarlet Johansson and Peggy Carter to Haley Atwell, who have portrayed both characters fantastically in the franchise.
While both characters grew to become quite prominent players in the Marvel game, it wasn’t a total loss for Blunt, who went on to gain starring roles in other blockbuster hits such as The Edge of Tomorrow, Into the Woods, and Sicario.
13. John Malkovich – The Vulture
While chatting it up with the people in Slash Film, John Malkovich revealed that he was approached for the role of Vulture in Sam Raimi’s unfinished Spider-Man 4, a prevalent villain in the comic series.
Malkovich theorized that perhaps the “fanboys” or the studio itself didn’t approve of The Vulture as Spidey’s next major opponent, and it may have been a reason as to why the project “fell apart”.
Then again, this was just his guess.
The actor also admitted to being disappointed about the role, being that he had quite a friendly relationship with Sam Raimi, Tobey McGuire, and the movie’s producers. In fact, he was even offered the role of the Green Goblin in the first movie.
The role eventually went to Michael Keaton in Jon Watts’ reboot, though it would’ve been interesting to see Malkovich’s portrayal of the iconic villain.
12. Tom Cruise – Iron Man
Can we really imagine another actor in the shoes of the snarky, sardonic Tony Stark?
Well, it seems like one of the MCU’s most popular roles nearly landed in the hands of another Hollywood heart-breaket: Mission Impossible’s Tom Cruise.
Before Jon Favreau worked with Marvel on what later became a blockbuster hit of a film franchise, New Line Cinema had jumped on the idea of an Iron Man movie directed by Nick Cassavetes, with Tom Cruise as the leading star.
This venture was eventually abandoned, with Favreau gaining the reigns over the movie adaptation we all know and love today.
He admitted that no one seemed to pop out more than Robert Downey Jr. during auditions for the titular role, and man, are we glad he got the part.
11. Liam Hemsworth – Thor
Hello, sibling rivalry. During an insightful interview with W Magazine, Chris Hemsworth dished all the “deets” regarding his rather “disappointing” audition process for Thor, which – luckily for us – all turned out good and well for the talented actor.
Chris had quite a rocky start with the role, giving it a shot in the audition room and never hearing back from the studio in months.
At the same time, Chris’ younger brother Liam had also given the role a go and received multiple callbacks in contrast.
Chris was ready to accept that he had “blown” his audition. Fortunately, in a twist of fate, his manager was able to convince the studio to give the actor a second audition.
Admittedly frustrated that his “little brother had gotten further,” Hemsworth completely stepped up his game and ultimately won Branagh and co. over. The rest his history from there – thank goodness for second chances.
10. Jason Momoa – Drax the Destroyer
As someone famously known for playing shirtless, intimidating men of little words, it would’ve been pretty fitting to see Jason Momoa as Guardians of the Galaxy’s Drax.
The Game of Thrones star was almost set to play the Marvel anti-hero until reports came out stating that he had withdrawn due to failed negotiations for higher pay.
Additionally, Momoa claimed that he was aiming to stray from the typical silent, shirtless male roles that he’s often seen interpreting on the big screen.
(However, while he’s managed to score the rather mouthy role of Aquaman for Justice League, we’re not quite sure if he’s ready to give up on the shirtlessness anytime soon.)
As we all know, the now-Guardians favorite was eventually portrayed by former professional wrestler, Dave Bautista. However, Marvel artist Andy Park released his early concept design of Momoa as Drax on Twitter, satisfying our curiosity on what could’ve been.
9. Kate Hudson – Mary Jane Watson
Before Kirsten Dunst scored the role of Peter Parker’s red-headed girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson, in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, Hollywood sweetheart Kate Hudson was initially approached for the part.
Sadly, Hudson rejected the offer over a leading role (opposite Heath Ledger) in the Shekhar Kapur-directed period drama, The Four Feathers.
It received a rather lukewarm reception from audiences and critics, though, garnering the disappointing rating of 41% on Rotten Tomatoes. This leads us to believe that Hudson may have made the wrong career move at that point.
Raimi eventually cast Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane, who admitted that she “wanted to be in [the] movie so badly.”
The blockbuster hit became the actress’ most commercially successful movie, launching her career to new heights. She also had a reprised appearance in a second and third Spider-Man movie.
8. Jake Gyllenhaal – Spider-Man
After sustaining unfortunate back injuries during the filming of Gary Ross’ Seabiscuit, it seemed as if Tobey McGuire was unfit to reprise his role as the web-slinging teen superhero in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man sequel.
At the time, the studio had already begun their hunt for replacements, with Jake Gyllenhaal as a front-runner candidate for the job.
However, the role was eventually given back to McGuire, who – in a fortunate turn of events – was able to recuperate from his circumstances and return for the part.
This wasn’t the only superhero lead to slip by Gyllenhaal, though.
Shortly after losing out on Spider-Man 2, the actor was also passed on for the role of Batman in Batman Begins, one that was given to Christian Bale (with a performance one has yet to top).
7. Olivia Wilde – Gamora
Before Zoe Saldana’s excellent portrayal of Guardians of the Galaxy’s green-skinned female lead, the role of Gamora was initially offered to House star, Olivia Wilde.
Sources haven’t cracked down on why the actress turned down the role, nor was there a clear explanation from Wilde herself.
Seeing as she’s got that attractive, fiery look that would have been perfect for Gamora’s alluring, yet dangerous persona, we can’t help but think that Wilde would’ve made a pretty spot-on alternative.
Adrianne Palicki was also considered for the part, though ultimately wound up on another Marvel production – Joss Whedon’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Still, as Saldana as the final casting choice, we can’t complain much; her take on the Marvel heroine was flawless nonetheless.
6. John Krasinski – Captain America
It’s hard to hear the name “John Krasinski” and not have The Office’s snarky and sarcastic Jim Halpert come to mind. From his best-known role as a bored paper salesman, would he have been able to convince Marvel fans as The Avengers’ noble, patriotic, and – most of all – mega-buff superhero, Captain America?
The actor shares an entertaining story on Conan of the time he actually made it pretty far into the audition process of Captain America, going so far as to trial the character’s costume.
He recalls putting on the suit when another Marvel star, Chris Hemsworth, passed by him in his famous Thor get-up.
This triggered a reality check for Krasinski, who admitted that he realized, then and there, that he just wasn’t Captain America.
Krasinski has since pursued other acting and directorial projects, including his 2016 comedy movie, The Hollars, and most recently the box-office horror success, A Quiet Place.
5. Sam Rockwell – Iron Man
While there’s no denying that Robert Downey Jr.’s on-screen version of Iron Man is impeccable, his eventual Iron Man 2 co-star, Sam Rockwell, was also on Jon Favreau’s radar for the iconic Marvel role.
In the early stages of Iron Man’s production, Favreau had approached Rockwell about doing a test-screening for the cocky billionaire hero and was set to offer him an audition for the part.
Of course, the role eventually went to Downey, which in hindsight, was probably for the best, seeing as he’s the closest we’ll ever get to a real-life Tony Stark.
Things weren’t a total loss for Rockwell, however. His acting chops and flawless comedic timing earned him the role of Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2, a character just as arrogant and over-confident as Stark – albeit one with more villainous motives.
4. Glenn Howerton – Star-Lord
Chris Pratt won the hearts of many from his first second on-screen in Guardians of the Galaxy, singing and dancing along to Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love”.
Being the entertaining comedian that he is (he was arguably the best part of Parks and Recreation), he successfully stole the show, spotlighting him in Hollywood’s blockbuster scene and gaining him the A-lister status he has today.
While we can’t really think of anyone else as Star-Lord, James Gunn revealed that he would have opted for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Glenn Howerton as a second choice for the wise-cracking space bandit.
Being a comedian himself, Howerton wouldn’t have made such a bad choice. However, with how perfectly Pratt has fit into the role, we’re still glad things turned out the way they did.
3. Eliza Dushku – Black Widow
During Iron Man 2’s development, Dollhouse star and Joss Whedon alumni, Eliza Dushku, started an Internet campaign to snag her the role of the deadly assassin, Black Widow.
The actress claimed that she was “perfect” for the part, adding that she even knew how to speak Russian.
She had recently learned the language for her role in Dollhouse.
To top that off, her character in the series also boasts a impressive skillset of martial arts expertise and spy training, so it wasn’t like she hadn’t portrayed a similar character before.
In the end, the role went to Scarlet Johansson, and we definitely can’t complain. Still, in an alternate reality, Dushku would have made considerable choice seeing as she fit all the qualifications for the Marvel heroine.
2. Lindsay Lohan – Maria Hill
While she never actually disclosed the exact role that she opted for, Lindsay Lohan revealed that she was very nearly cast in Joss Whedon’s The Avengers.
With TIME magazine’s careful process of elimination, it seems that the part would have very likely been Agent Maria Hill.
According to Lohan, her manager did not “push” hard enough to win her the “leading” part, eventually having it land in the hands of who she considered an “unknown.”
According to TIME, it couldn’t have been Pepper Potts or Black Widow, since these were respectively played by Gwyneth Paltrow and Scarlet Johansson, and neither are “unknowns.”
That leaves Maria Hill, who was eventually portrayed by T.V.’s Colbie Smulders – and who the publication theorizes Lohan might have possibly been “shading.”
From Mean Girls to Marvel, it would have admittedly been interesting to see ex-teen-queen Lindsay Lohan as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
1. Adam Sandler – Rocket Raccoon
Oh, dear. While The Guardians of the Galaxy movie franchise is undeniably some of the funniest Marvel films out there, casting Adam Sandler as the clever and caustic Rocket Raccoon probably wouldn’t have been the best choice.
Nevertheless, the actor was considered for the part of the rocket-launching trash panda, alongside another prolific comedian, Jim Carrey.
We’re not dismissing Sandler’s acting chops – he can definitely bring a comedic performance on-screen with movie hits like Happy Gilmore and The Wedding Singer. However, we aren’t so sure that his typical man-child schtick would have worked so well for Rocket.
Bradley Cooper eventually took over the role, bringing a performance that was just derisive yet comical enough to successfully portray the character. So we’re glad with how things ultimately turned out.
What do you think of these picks? Would you have prefered any of these actors in Marvel movies? Let us know in the comments!
