15 Actors Who Really Wanted To Be In Comic Book Movies (And Failed)
1. Michael Jackson Lobbied Hard To Play The Riddler/Spider-Man
Just when you thought Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever couldn't have possibly been any worse, you remember that the late, great Michael Jackson could have ended up playing The Riddler, had the King of Pop gotten his way. Thankfully, Jackson's wishes were ignored and it was the far more suitable Jim Carrey who took on the part of DC villain Edward Nigma. In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times almost a decade after the film's release, the director, who worked with the musician on 1978s The Wiz, was asked if he was still in touch with Jackson:
"Hes called me a few times. He wanted to play the Riddler in Batman Forever and they wanted me to do his Scream music video. There was really no role for him in Batman Forever, and I was working on something else when the Scream video came out.
That wasn't Jacko's only attempt to force his way into the world of comic books, however. Such was his desire to get himself into some latex on-screen that he almost bought Marvel, as company co-founder and comic book deity Stan Lee revealed:
"I knew Michael Jackson. And with the things he discussed with me, I felt he wanted to be Spider-Man. That was the character that interested him. Yes, he wanted to . He felt that would be the only way that he could play Spider-Man."
Which of these actors do you think most deserved the superhero call? Share your favourites below in the comments thread.