Random Actors Who Were THIS CLOSE to Playing Superheroes (20 items)

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  (#1) John Krasinski

  • 43

  Apparently The Office star had the part of Cap all but won after impressing producers during two screen tests. When word leaked that he was the prime choice, fans went nuts, and Krasinski was left out in the cold. Then Chris Evans picked up the shield (without even auditioning) and claimed his spot as America's biggest patriot. 

  In a 2020 interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Krasinski joked that Chris Hemsworth intimidated him, saying "I was putting the suit on, and I was halfway up - not wearing any clothes other than this - and [the suit] was halfway up And right at that moment, Chris Hemsworth walked by, and he was like, 'Ya look good, mate.' 

  And I was like, 'Nope. You know what, it's fine. We don't have to do this.'" 
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  (#2) Marlon Wayans

  • 51

  Before Joel Schumacher took over and subsequently ran the Batman franchise into the ground, Tim Burton planned to include Robin in Batman Returns, with a young Marlon Wayans officially signed on to play the Boy Wonder. He had even done costume tests. The character was dropped during pre-production, Wayans said, because there were "too many characters."
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  (#3) Emily Blunt

  • 40

  Emily Blunt had just completed filming The Wolfman with Joe Johnston (director of First Avenger) when Marvel reportedly offered the English actress the part as Black Widow after a successful screen test, but Blunt couldn’t accept the role due to a contract with Fox for another film, which ended up being Gulliver’s Travels. Scarlett Johansson then got the part and was running around with Earth's Mightiest Heroes just a few short years later.
  
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  (#4) Dougray Scott

  • 57

  In hindsight, the X-Men films probably wouldn't have been as successful as they were if Hugh Jackman didn't play Wolverine. Even though it's usually a given that a film that costs $75 Million will be a success (Fantastic Four is the exception and not the rule), would the franchise had been such a powerhouse without Jackman? Dougray Scott, a journeyman Scottish actor, was actually hired to play Logan when director Bryan Singer was assembling his mutant team for X-Men in 1999. Scott was ultimately forced to pull out just as filming began due to scheduling conflicts with Mission: Impossible II.
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  (#5) Nicolas Cage

  • 59

  One of the biggest Hollywood implosions is Superman Lives, a film that would have been helmed by Tim Burton and starred Nicolas Cage. Stories about how terrible the film could have been have been popping up across the Internet for a decade, but after the watching The Death of Superman Lives, a documentary chronicling the multi-year studio debacle surrounding the film, we think it might have been the most enjoyable Superman movie ever.
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  (#6) Joaquin Phoenix as Dr. Strange

  He's known more for arthouse movies, but Joaquin Phoenix was the first choice to star as Stephen Strange in Doctor Strange. The actor spent more than three months negotiating with Marvel Studios, and came close enough to closing a deal to star that he was repeatedly reported to be fully on board.

  Ultimately, though, Phoenix opted out and after an extended search, Marvel hired Benedict Cumberbatch as the Sorcerer Supreme. Phoenix eventually went on to play Arthur Fleck in Todd Phillips's Joker. 
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  (#7) Bradley Cooper

  • 48

  Bradley Cooper probably would have been fine as Hal Jordan, but it still wouldn't have saved a film that seemed destined to fail. He was a final contender to play Jordan, but Ryan Reynolds ended up looking goofy instead. As one of the few big name Hollywood actors who has been absent for a superhero movie, it feels like it's only a matter of time before Cooper plays a superhero.
  
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  (#8) James Franco

  • 45

  Before Sam Raimi brought Spider-Man to the big screen, he auditioned James Franco for the role of Peter Parker. In fact, casting reportedly came down to Tobey Maguire (Raimi's choice) and Franco (the studio's preference). He ended up playing Harry Osborne, which is almost as good of a role. 
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  (#9) Tom Cruise

  • 61

  Looking back on the role of Iron Man, it's hard to believe that Marvel was going to cast anyone but Robert Downey Jr. in the pivotal role. But in the early 2000s the role was Tom Cruise's to lose. Marvel was said to be very close to signing Cruise, excited to have a mega star for their first self-financed film, but Cruise reportedly dropped out due to the script. Which makes sense, seeing as how there was supposedly only a skeleton of a script when Iron Man started filming years later. Marvel ended up going another direction and hired Jon Favreau, who in turn brought Robert Downey Jr. aboard.

  It’s worth mentioning that at one point after Tom Cruise left the project, Quentin Tarantino was pursued to direct but of course that didn't pan out.
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  (#10) Cillian Murphy

  • 47

  Something tells us that Christopher Nolan always wanted Christian Bale for the role of Batman in his Dark Knight trilogy, and that his audition for Cillian Murphy was more of nicety. But it all ended well for Murphy, who got to be in all three films, and he had a chance to wear Val Kilmer's batsuit in his screen test. 
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  (#11) Jack Black

  • 54

  In 2006 there was an insane idea to cast Jack Black in a comedic Green Lantern film penned by Robert Smigel that would have seen Black accidentally gaining the powers of the Green Lantern Corps. In theory, this could be an interesting film, but in a world where interesting ideas don't make billions of dollars, it's probably best that this film was scrapped. 
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  (#12) Adam Brody

  • 43

  In the mid 2000s, Adam Brody was described by the Los Angeles Times as “TV’s sexiest geek,” and he was even tapped to play DC’s fastest man alive, Flash. Brody was part of an ensemble chosen in to star in a 2007 Justice League film that sadly never came to pass. The film was to be directed by Mad Max’s George Miller, and was already in pre-production, but when Australia denied the film certain tax incentives, the whole thing fell apart.
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  (#13) Timothy Olyphant

  • 55

  While Timothy Olyphant is well known and respected television actor, he was almost a part of one of the biggest comic franchises in history. He actually had his Tony Stark screen test on the same day as Robert Downey Jr. We think Olyphant is great, but he would have looked weird with a goatee. 
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  (#14) Armie Hammer

  • 37

  Another casualty of George Miller's Justice League, Armie Hammer (star of The Lone Ranger and The Social Network) was cast as Batman. An odd choice, seeing as how Christian Bale was doing just fine as the Dark Knight at the time. Hammer had already been fitted for his own batsuit and had undergone several months of physical training in preparation for the Justice League film, only for it to stall out due to the Writers Guild strike, tax issues, and the success of The Dark Knight.
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  (#15) Brigitte Nielsen

  • 60

  Do you remember the She-Hulk movie from the '90s? Because we don't and we know everything about comics. Apparently this movie was a thing that was supposed to happen that people were excited about. The titular She-Hulk was to be played by Cobra and Red Sonja actress Brigitte Nielsen. She had the part and even participated in promotional photo shoots as She-Hulk.  As most stories about Marvel in the '90s go, the company failed to materialize the money to finance She-Hulk dreams.
  
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  (#16) Common

  • 51

  Common made his comic film debut in 2008’s Wanted as the Gunsmith, and that put him in the spotlight for another role - the ill-fated Justice League’s Green Lantern. After being fitted for the Green Lantern costume and undergoing hellish physical training alongside his co-stars, Common watched as the Writers Strike put the Justice League movie on hold. When the strike eventually ended, Warner Bros. decided not to move forward with a superhero team movie and Common's super dreams were crushed.
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  (#17) Sylvester Stallone

  • 77

  Director Richard Donner's Superman was the first big-budget, big-screen superhero movie and attracted some big names to potentially play Superman. Supposedly, Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, and Burt Reynolds rebuffed offers to star. But there was also plenty of young talent hoping to play the Man of Steel. One of those rising stars was Sylvester Stallone, who threw his hat into the ring after the success of Rocky. Stallone apparently lobbied hard for the part until Marlon Brando, who had already been signed to star as Jor-El, shut him down. 
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  (#18) Sam Rockwell

  • 54

  Before Robert Downey Jr. made Iron Man the film juggernaut that it is today, Jon Favreau had a shortlist of quirky character actors to bring on as Tony Stark. One of them was Sam Rockwell, a veteran of the screen who'd already played dashing characters like Confessions of a Dangerous Mind's Chuck Barris and the Charlie's Angels baddie Eric Knox. He didn't get the starring gig, but he did play a villainous role as Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2.
  
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  (#19) Scott Leva

  • 65

  Before Tobey Maguire became a household name by playing the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Scott Leva was primed to put on the tights and start swinging across New York. Leva was (and still is) a professional stuntman who was the front runner to play the Spidey when Cannon Films was desperately trying to develop a Spider-Man movie in the late ’80s, lest they lose the rights. Leva had even appeared in promo shots for Cannon wearing the iconic suit.
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  (#20) Channing Tatum

  • 43

  In 2009, the Magic Mike star went so far as to have meetings with director Kenneth Branagh about playing the God of Thunder, but execs at Marvel Studios didn't think he looked Nordic enough so they moved on. 

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