MCU Castings That Almost Happened

This week will see the long-awaited debut of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the latest in the ever-evolving string of films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As the title suggests, the blockbuster is poised to take fans on a journey through the Marvel multiverse, and the marketing for the film has gradually begun to provide hints of what that could look like, leading fans to wonder which established or even completely new incarnations of characters could appear.

While a number of Marvel characters have been portrayed by multiple actors in film and television reboots over the years, the vast majority had not made their live-action debut until the MCU — but that doesn’t necessarily mean other actors aren’t associated with the character. Over the years, there have been quite a lot of Marvel characters who came incredibly close to being played by another actor, with combinations that range from the inspired to the baffling. In honor of Multiverse of Madness, we thought we’d look back at just a few of the actors who almost played key MCU heroes.

Tom Cruise as Iron Man

The MCU might not have become what it was today without the first Iron Man movie, which was anchored by Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of the tech-loving hero. Long before the Downey-led film came to fruition, there were previous plans to bring the character to the big screen — and Tom Cruise is the name often best associated with those efforts. In the late 1990s, both Cruise and Nicolas Cage expressed interest in playing Tony Stark, but neither came close to the project as its film rights transitioned between various studios. Even when Marvel Studios and director Jon Favreau set out to make their Iron Man movie in the 2000s, Cruise might not have ended up getting the part either way, as Favreau initially planned to cast a newcomer for the role. 

“Not close,” Cruise told ComicBook.com in 2018 when asked whether he had ever been close to taking the role. “Not close, and I love Robert Downey Jr. I can’t imagine anyone else in that role, and I think it’s perfect for him.”

Nevertheless, a number of fans still lament the fact that we never quite got Cruise as Tony Stark, leading to deepfakes, fanart, and a ton of speculation about whether or not he could be playing the Superior Iron Man version of the character in Multiverse of Madness.

John Krasinski as Captain America

Another key component of the MCU’s success has arguably been Chris Evans’ take on Steve Rogers / Captain America — but he was far from the only actor in the running for the role. The reported shortlist for Captain America: The First Avenger ranged wildly, from Ryan Phillippe to Sebastian Stan (who eventually played Bucky Barnes in the film) to John Krasinski. Krasinski was one of the most popular names considered for the role, something that the A Quiet Place and The Office star has continued to poke fun at.

“It was a big deal for me, because first of all, I love those Marvel movies,” Krasinski said in a 2016 interview with Conan. “I love superheroes. I love imagination, so when they asked me to test, they actually allowed me to put on the suit. I was on a set, it was all very interesting. I feel like as I’m talking about this someone from Marvel is going to be like ‘shook’ and just like dart me like I’m not allowed to talk about it at all. But I remember the only bummer that was, I was putting on the suit just watching it and like this is so amazing and I got about right to my waist, I was still shirtless and feeling pretty good about myself, wasn’t Thirteen Hours yet but felt pretty good, and all of a sudden Chris Hemsworth walked by as Thor and went ‘hey mate’, and I went ‘I’m good, this is stupid, I shouldn’t, It’s okay, I’m not going to be Captain America, it’s fine.’”

While Krasinski’s Steve Rogers never came to fruition, that hasn’t stopped fans from hoping that he’ll join the MCU in some capacity, with the actor becoming a prominent fancast for Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic. Fans’ hopes to see him in the role have only continued into Phase 4 of the franchise, from speculating at length that he could have been WandaVision‘s aerospace engineer, to wondering if he could get cast for the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot film.

Emily Blunt as Black Widow, Peggy Carter, or Captain Marvel

Coincidentally, Krasinski’s real-life wife Emily Blunt has also had brushes with joining the MCU, but they have yet to properly come to fruition. The Jungle Cruise and The Devil Wears Prada star was actually originally cast as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in Iron Man 2, before stepping down due to scheduling conflicts, leading to Scarlett Johansson portraying the role. Blunt was also reportedly up for the role of The First Avenger‘s Peggy Carter (who was later played by Hayley Atwell), and later became a pretty prominent fancast for the role of Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (now played by Brie Larson).

“No one’s offered me that officially, so it’s … [laughs] very unofficial,” Blunt said of Captain Marvel rumors when talking to Vulture back in 2014. “I think it’s fan-casting, which is always very nice. But nothing official has been offered, for sure.”

“Yeah, but it was never the right time, really, and it just didn’t work out scheduling-wise with those two,” Blunt said of turning down Black Widow and Peggy Carter. “It’s always a difficult thing to talk about, because it’s not fair to the actresses who ended up playing them, you know? It just wasn’t the right time.”

Zooey Deschanel as The Wasp

2012’s The Avengers had a lot of narrative ground to cover, introducing the world to the titular superhero team and kicking off a slew of sequels and spinoffs in the MCU. While the film largely followed its original six heroes, there was always the question of what other Avengers members from Marvel Comics canon could have popped up. As it turns out, Joss Whedon’s original plans for The Avengers involved the introduction of a comic-accurate founder of the team, with Zooey Deschanel being eyed to play The Wasp in the movie.

“It was all about The Wasp,” producer Jeremy Latcham explained in the 2021 book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. “He wanted to cast Zooey Deschanel. [Wasp] was the funniest character in the whole movie, and well-written.”

“The Wasp happened because there was a short period where it looked like we weren’t going to be able to get Scarlett [due to scheduling conflicts], so I was panicking,” Whedon echoed. “I thought, ‘Hold on, we could do The Wasp.’ Then I fell in love with that. But we did get Scarlett, and then I realized I had written this entire movie about The Wasp. Oops. I overcompensated there.” 

Patrick Wilson as Yellowjacket

While a number of castings on this list didn’t come close to actually playing the role, there are a few exceptions — including Patrick Wilson as Ant-Man‘s primary antagonist, Darren Cross / Yellowjacket. The Aquaman and The Conjuring star was initially attached to the project in its early days when it was set to be helmed by Shaun of the Dead‘s Edgar Wright. Wright left the project in 2014 due to creative differences, and Wilson departed soon after, reportedly due to scheduling conflicts.

Peyton Reed eventually took over directing the project (and its subsequent sequels) from Wright, and Corey Stoll ended up portraying Yellowjacket following Wilson’s exit.

DeWanda Wise as Maria Rambeau

Another MCU casting that came close to fruition occurred in Phase 3, when DeWanda Wise was originally cast in Captain Marvel. The She’s Gotta Have It actress had been tied to the part, which was described as a mystery role opposite Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers, for just two months, before departing in March of 2018 due to scheduling conflicts. Lashana Lynch was cast in the part soon after, and was eventually revealed to be playing Maria Rambeau, the best friend of Carol and the mother of Monica Rambeau.

Although Wise’s casting never came to fruition, fans were still curious to see if she could factor into the MCU, with suggestions that she portray the grown-up version of Monica (a role that eventually went to Teyonah Parris). While Wise has yet to join the MCU in an official capacity, she has recent found success with projects like The Harder They Fall and the upcoming Jurassic World Dominion.

Glenn Howerton as Star-Lord

Pivoting further into the cosmos of the MCU, a number of the Guardians of the Galaxy characters were close to being portrayed by different actors. Among them is Peter Quill / Star-Lord, who was almost portrayed by Glenn Howerton prior to Chris Pratt landing the role. Howerton, who co-created and stars in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, was James Gunn’s second choice for playing Star-Lord, as he has confirmed several times in interviews and on social media over the years. 

“Glenn came along a bit later, but there was a good chance that, if I didn’t cast Chris, that I would’ve cast Glenn Howerton in the role,” Gunn revealed in a 2014 interview with GQ Magazine.

Howerton, who has since also become a popular fancast for Reed Richards, recently shed light on the Guardians audition process while on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2021.

“I went and auditioned for it, like I think a lot of actors did, and I had no idea how close I got,” Howerton explained. “I walked out of there and I was like ‘Yeah, it went okay.’ But actually, as I was walking out of the waiting room, I saw Chris Pratt and I remember thinking ‘Oh, he’s perfect for this.’ … And I was like ‘There’s no way I’m getting it.’ And then I didn’t.”

Amanda Seyfried as Gamora

Another almost-casting in the Guardians franchise concerned Gamora, the alien warrior and adopted daughter of Thanos who was eventually portrayed by Zoe Saldana. In the years following the release of the first two Guardians films, another possible candidate for the role has come to light — Amanda Seyfried. In a 2019 interview, the Mamma Mia! and The Dropout actress revealed that she turned down a “big” superhero part, and indicated that it would have required her to “be green for six months out of every year.”

“I turned down one [superhero role] once and they haven’t called back since.” Seyfried explained to MTV at the time. “And it was a big’un. I don’t regret it because I didn’t want to be green for six months out of every year. They tell beautiful stories through superheroes, and my daughter’s now really obsessed with superheroes now, and part of me wishes I’d done it, but the other part of me is like ‘I had a life to live’ and I don’t think I would’ve been happy.”

While Gunn has since confirmed that Saldana was his first choice for Gamora, the idea of Seyfried being in contention for the part has continued to be spoken about.

“I think about it often,” Seyfried said during an interview with ComicBook.com in 2020. “I’m not really a Marvel movie watcher, which is, I think, why I was just like, ‘Ah, I don’t wanna be green. It’s just so much work.’ I remember Jennifer Lawrence talking about once, how long it took her to get blue. And I was like, ‘That seems like hell on earth,’ because then you get to set and you’re only there for a couple hours, and then you have to take everything off. And that was literally the reason.”

Jason Momoa as Drax

Rounding out the “Guardians castings that could have been” is Drax the Destroyer, who was ultimately portrayed by Dave Bautista in the MCU. Prior to that, however, reports had indicated that Jason Momoa — who was then best known for his role on Game of Thrones — had been close to taking the part, before the negotiations fell apart. Momoa even got so close to playing the role that concept art was made of him as the character.

“Dave is perfect for that role, for Drax. It didn’t really fit in my time because I’ve done so many things where I don’t say much and I’m colored up and I have my shirt off again,” Momoa explained to Zap2It in 2014. “I made a conscious choice to turn down some movies that were action-based to direct Road to Paloma so people could see that side…. It’s not that it’s not a good role, it just wasn’t the right thing. I was on Stargate: Atlantis for four years playing a similar character called Ronon, who was an alien who didn’t say much and grunted. I’ve been there and done that, whether people have seen it or not. You want to stretch.”

Ultimately, Momoa and Bautista both shared the screen in Dune and Apple TV+’s See, and Momoa and Gunn would work together in a wildly different superhero context.

Paul Reubens as Thanos

The decade-plus worth of films in the MCU ultimately culminated in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, which saw many of the established heroes joining forces to defeat Josh Brolin’s Thanos. Brolin’s take on the Mad Titan was established years prior in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and according to director James Gunn, two completely different actors were also in contention for the role. These included Encino Man alum Pauly Shore, as well as Paul Reubens, best known to the world for portraying the beloved character Pee-Wee Herman.

“Josh was just somebody who came up when we were trying to think of who could play Thanos,” Gunn explained to MTV at the time. “Josh was somebody who came up. I’m a big fan of his work, and he was somebody who came up who really had the weight that you need for somebody like Thanos.”

“We talked about Pauly Shore for a long time,” Gunn revealed. “It didn’t seem to be great. He wanted too much money. We talked a lot to Paul Reubens. He didn’t seem to be Thanos. Then we came to Josh Brolin. ‘I think he seems to fit more than those other two guys.’”

Want to learn more about Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch’s latest adventure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Check back on ComicBook CRAM every day leading up to the premiere of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and click here for even more content to find out everything you need to know about the new movie!