12 Actors Who Stupidly Turned Down Comic Book Movies
"You mess up white peoples’ heroes in Hollywood, you’ll never work in this town again!”
Regardless of the nagging cynicism that suggests that comic book movies are somehow a second class of film-making, their productions go through the same long-gestations from idea to screen and are still the subject of everyday industry things like contract disputes, legal haggles and ground-up changes from the original vision. Directors come and go, scripts are written and shredded furiously, and lead actors change parts and drop out entirely almost every week in the early days of production. Sometimes the stars ear-marked for those roles don't even make it in front of the camera: they make it through early discussions, even up to screen-testing and seeing other candidates thinned out, but when it comes down to actually saying yes and pulling on the lycra or rubber, they just can't commit. Even in the case of Tom Hardy and Suicide Squad, the Mad Max actor was officially confirmed and the serious business of filming lay around the corner before he suddenly realised he wasn't actually available (or interested, depending on who you believe). And he's not the only actor to turn down comic book movies for a lack of perceived quality (or for the impact it would have on a career) either