12 Actors You Didn't Know Almost Played Superheroes
With great star power comes great responsibility.
Marvel and DC seem to rule our cinema screens come summertime, and a lot of their movies' appeal comes from the A-list talent attached to them. Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Pratt, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth—all of the big Chrises—grace theatres, bringing our favorite comic book heroes to life to create mega blockbuster hits. Naturally, casting is hugely important when building a franchise, which means hundreds of names are considered before finding the right fit.
So it comes as no surprise that for these superhero flicks, there are dozens of famous names left on the cutting room floor in casting offices all over Hollywood. You might have even asked yourself why Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruis,e or even Channing Tatum haven't found their way into a superhero movie yet. Well, it isn't for lack for trying, it turns out.
Here's just some of the celebs who were so close to being the stars of their own comic book blockbusters.
12. Matthew McConaughey As Doctor Strange/Peter Quill
Following his highly lauded "McConaissance," Matthew McConaughey has had his pick of whatever roles he wants to play in Hollywood. So when it came time to find the next character in the MCU, Doctor Strange, casting directors naturally headed his way.
McConaughey was offered the mystical part of Doctor Strange (as well as a chance to be in Guardians of the Galaxy), but the actor was weighing his options between the Marvel projects and that the Stephen King adaptation The Dark Tower. He concluded that though Marvel films are generally successful, he felt The Dark Tower script was well written and liked that he'd have more creative freedom in taking on the role paired with it. As he said in a recent interview with Playboy:
I like Guardians of the Galaxy, but what I saw was ‘It’s successful, and now we’ve got room to make a colorful part for another big-name actor.’ I’d feel like an amendment. The Dark Tower script was well written, I like the director and his take on it, and I can be the creator, the author of the Man in Black—a.k.a. the Devil—in my version of this Stephen King novel.”