At this point, it honestly seems like every
actor in the world has made his or her way
into a Marvel movie at one point or another.
Between the X-Men franchise, the ever-expanding
MCU and independent Marvel hits like Deadpool,
there is no shortage of roles available for
willing actors.
For this video, we are taking a look at some
actors who were almost in Marvel movies, but
ultimately missed out.
Here is our list of 10 Actors Who Were Close
To Being A Marvel Superhero.
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Emily Blunt – Black Widow
For years there have been rumors swirling
about Emily Blunt finally joining the Marvel
Cinematic Universe, but as of now – she
still hasn’t.
The closest that the Edge Of Tomorrow actress
ever came was when they were casting the role
of Black Widow.
Both Blunt and Marvel wanted her for the role
and plans were already in motion for her to
debut as the character in Iron Man 2.
Unfortunately she was contractually obligated
to turn it down and instead work on the regrettable
movie, Gulliver’s Travels.
Lucky for Marvel fans, Scarlett Johansson
is fantastic as Black Widow, but we’re sure
people still wonder what it would have been
like if Emily Blunt had kept it.
Jake Gyllenhaal – Spiderman
The story of Jake Gyllenhaal almost becoming
Spiderman is definitely a weird one, as this
casting almost happened for Spiderman 2, when
Tobey Maguire had already played the titular
hero in the original movie.
Gyllenhaal was seriously considered for the
role due to the fact that Maguire had actually
seriously injured his back while filming Seabiscuit.
The studio was unsure that Maguire would be
able to reprise the role of Spidey, and Gyllenhaal
seemed to be their answer.
In the end, Tobey Maguire and the filmmakers
were able to work out a plan and Jake Gyllenhaal
was let go.
This re-casting would have definitely been
unique, but we are happy it didn’t happen.
Liam Hemsworth – Thor
But wait, isn’t Liam the brother of Chris
Hemsworth, who actually plays Thor?
That’s right, before Chris landed the role
of the Asgardian God it was actually his younger
brother Liam who was the front-runner to wield
the hammer.
The even crazier thing is that the studio’s
second choice after Liam was none other than
Tom Hiddleston, who of course plays Loki in
the film.
Somehow Chris was able to convince the studio
heads that he was the right Hemsworth for
the job.
We think that his Thor-like blonde hair and
incredible physique definitely helped his
cause in beating out his brother for the part.
Tom Cruise – Iron Man
Robert Downey Jr is absolutely iconic as Tony
Stark in the MCU, but it turns out that RDJ
wasn’t actually the first choice for the
role.
Years before the world ever got to see Iron
Man, the studio was actually targeting a different
leading man, Tom Cruise.
In the mid 2000’s Cruise was a true superstar,
whereas Downey Jr was somewhat of a black
listed actor.
The studio tried to secure Cruise for the
role, but the actor finally decided to pass
on the part.
This is the definition of a blessing in disguise
as RDJ’s Iron Man has been the most important
and iconic character in the entire MCU.
Russell Crowe – Wolverine
Russell Crowe has a pretty stack filmography
with roles in movies ranging from Gladiator
to Les Miserables.
The actor has even played a part in DC’s
Man Of Steel as Jor-El, but one thing Crowe
is yet to do is star in a Marvel movie.
As it turns out, Crowe almost made his Marvel
movie debut back in 2000 as he was actually
in talks to play Wolverine in the X-men movie
before the filmmakers decided to go with Hugh
Jackman.
Looking back it’s hard to imagine anyone
but Jackman in the iconic role and it’s
hard to know how Crowe would have done.
One thing is for sure, if he had taken on
the role of Wolverine, he would have had to
whip his body into much better shape!
Ronda Rousey – Captain Marvel
Ronda Rousey is one of the most famous MMA
fighters of all time and with her incredible
physique and fighting ability she’s somewhat
of a real world superhero.
Rousey doesn’t have an extensive acting
history, but she has made it known that she
would be interested in adding a Marvel role
to her filmography.
When Marvel announced that they would be making
a Captain Marvel movie, Rousey was sure to
let it be known that she would be all in for
playing the titular character.
Unfortunately for the fighter, Marvel has
announced that Brie Larson will be taking
on the role but that doesn’t mean that Rousey
can’t land a Marvel role some time in the
future.
John Boyega – Black Panther
Along with Daisy Ridley, John Boyega is right
at the helm of the new Star Wars trilogy and
with the success of 2015’s The Force Awakens,
Boyega truly became a worldwide star seemingly
over night.
When Marvel announced that it would be making
a Black Panther movie, reports started surfacing
that Boyega would be joining the cast.
Unfortunately, the actor shut down these rumors
but he did let people know that he actually
wanted to play the T’Challa before Marvel
decided to cast Chadwick Boseman.
Boyega is a young and rising star so it wouldn’t
surprise us if he ended up in a Marvel movie
at some point.
John Krasinski – Captain America
Other than Iron Man, Captain America is the
biggest star in the MCU and Chris Evans has
been brilliant in the role for years.
It’s hard to imagine someone else throwing
Cap’s shield but it turns out the funny
man John Krasinski actually nearly landed
the role.
Marvel has keen on Krasinski and even had
him screen test with the suit on, but in the
end they decided to take the casting in a
different direction.
Krasinski has been a good sport about the
decision and has even joked about losing his
spot in the MCU to men with better bodies.
These days, Krasinski is looking pretty ripped
to we wouldn’t be surprised to see him in
a super suit some time soon.
Johnny Depp – Doctor Strange
Marvel’s 2016 magical superhero movie, Doctor
Strange, was a critical and box office hit
and Benedict Cumberbatch brought some serious
acting chops to the lead role.
Cumberbatch looks like he is here to stay
but it is pretty common knowledge that he
was not Marvel’s first choice for the character.
Studio heads were actually very keen on casting
Johnny Depp in the role in hopes that he would
bring his quirky character acting skills to
the MCU.
On top of Depp, the studio heads were also
heavily considering Joaquin Phoenix for the
titular role.
In the end, both Depp and Phoenix turned down
the offer and Marvel was stuck offering the
role to Cumberbatch.
Margot Robbie – Fantastic 4
In the summer of 2016, the whole world fell
in love with Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn
in the DCEU movie, Suicide Squad.
There is no denying that she is absolutely
perfect in the part, but some fans may not
know that she almost played a very different
superhero movie character.
When Marvel was planning to reboot Fantastic
Four, the filmmakers wanted Robbie for the
role of Sue Storm.
After disliking the script, Margot Robbie
decided to pass on the role and hold out for
a comic book movie role that suited her better.
She’s probably very happy with her decision
as Fantastic Four was an absolute nightmare
and although Suicide Squad was met with very
mixed reviews, her Harley Quinn was a hit!
So there you have it, there’s our list of
10 actors who were close to being a Marvel
superhero.
Which one of these castings do you wish had
happened?
What other crazy casting rumors have you heard
about?
Let us know what you think in the comments
section below and be sure to subscribe to
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