10 Hollywood Stars Who Said ‘No’ to Superhero Roles

There have been several instances where actors have turned down offers to play superhero characters, citing various reasons such as scheduling conflicts or creative differences. This article will look at ten actors who said no to iconic Marvel roles. 

Emily Blunt – Black Widow

Emily Blunt - Black Widow lev radin _ Shutterstock.com.
Photo Credit: lev radin _ Shutterstock.com.

Nowadays, Scarlett Johansson is synonymous with the name “Black Widow,” but there was a time when it could’ve been Emily Blunt.

In 2010, Blunt was initially offered the role but could not do so as she was filming “Gulliver’s Travels.” The window of opportunity closed, and the part ultimately went to Johansson.

Tom Cruise – Tony Stark

Photo Credit: Fred Duval/Shutterstock.

When Marvel Studios approached the actor for the role of Tony Stark decades ago, Tom Cruise didn’t feel he could make his own decisions for the part, so he declined it.

As we all know, Cruise prefers to have some creative direction with his movies, and that might not have worked well with Marvel.

Joaquin Phoenix – Doctor Strange

Joaquin Phoenix - Fred Duval _ Shutterstock.com
Photo Credit: Fred Duval _ Shutterstock.com.

In 2014, Marvel Studios and Joaquin Phoenix were reportedly close to signing the contract for Doctor Strange.

However, Phoenix ended up scuttling the deal, saying that the character requirements “went against [his] instincts for [a] character.” Thankfully, there were no hard feelings between both parties.

Daniel Craig – Thor

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Back in 2008, Marvel Studios approached Daniel Craig for the role of Thor. Craig, who was at the height of his 007 role at the time, turned down the offer.

He joked that it would be a “power trip” to simultaneously play James Bond and the god of thunder. 

Matt Damon – Daredevil

Matt Damon (Avatar
Photo Credit: Andrea Raffin _ Shutterstock.com.

Most Marvel fans associate Matt Damon as Fake Loki in the Thor movies, but you might not know that he was almost Daredevil instead of Ben Affleck.

Even though Damon was a massive fan of the comic book character, he ultimately passed on the role because he wasn’t sure of the script and wasn’t familiar with the director.

Mel Gibson – Odin

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Sir Anthony Hopkins’ performance as Odin brings the character a lot of grace and elegance, which makes it even more interesting to envision Mel Gibson in the role instead.

Would he have played it differently? Unfortunately, we’ll never know – Gibson turned down the offer, as he revealed to The Guardian in 2016.

Matthew McConaughey – Guardians Of The Galaxy

Matthew McConaughey 1 DFree _ Shutterstock.com
Photo Credit: DFree _ Shutterstock.com.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has become a film behemoth, so it’s no surprise to hear them approaching actors such as Matthew McConaughey.

What’s also not surprising is McConaughey’s reason for turning down a role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. According to the actor, he wanted a more meaningful role that he could develop instead of being just a token cast member.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson – X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson - s_bukley _ Shutterstock.com
Photo Credit: s_bukley _ Shutterstock.com.

At the height of his career with UFC, he accepted a role in another movie but lost his upcoming UFC match. He took that as a lesson and declined Marvel when they offered him a role in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. 

Jackson was training for another fight at the time, and he didn’t want to divide his attention between training and filming.

Jessica Chastain – Iron man 3

Jessica Chastain - Tinseltown _ Shutterstock.com
Photo Credit: Tinseltown _ Shutterstock.com.

Jessica Chastain has built quite an impressive list of blockbuster hits on her resume, but a Marvel movie is notably missing from that list.

Chastain was almost able to add Iron Man 3 to that list when she was offered the role of Maya Hansen, but it wasn’t meant to be. Her schedule was simply too full, but she hopes to get another offer one day. 

Amanda Seyfried – Gamora

Amanda Seyfried - DFree _ Shutterstock.com
Photo Credit: DFree _ Shutterstock.com.

It’s well-known just how much makeup work is involved in some of Marvel’s characters, but Amanda Seyfried was not a fan of that. The studio was ready to cast her as Gamora, but Seyfried wasn’t too keen on dealing with full-body makeup.

Jennifer Lawrence’s unpleasant experience with makeup as Mystique was enough to scare Seyfried off the role.

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