10 Times The MCU Completely Transformed Actors' Careers

Edward Norton's brief history with the MCU should be labeled "What might have been?".

While landing an actor of Norton's calibre to play Bruce Banner should have been a victory for the MCU back in 2008, the relationship between the actor and studio soon soured. From offering unsolicited rewrites of the script to not going on any promotional tours for the movie, Norton's behaviour so infuriated Marvel studios that they presumably shed few tears over the decision to replace him with Mark Ruffalo.

Since then, it can be argued Norton's career has never quite hit the heights that someone of his undoubted talent should reach. He didn't star in another blockbuster until 2012's The Bourne Legacy (which flopped), and it wasn't until 2014's Birdman he received both critical and commercial fame for a starring role. However, since then his highest profile role was an extended cameo as the villain in 2019's Alita: Battle Angel.

Edward Norton has always been choosy about his roles but it's hard not to think that his frosty relationship with Marvel, and by extension Disney, has blocked doors for him in his career. Maybe he could stand to learn a thing or two about diplomacy from the next person on the list...