Could you imagine a world where Tom Holland is not Spider-Man or where Emily Blunt portrays Natasha Romanoff? To us, it sounds like a real travesty! However, at the same time, we’d be pretty curious to see these alternate versions of Marvel movies with the main roles played by entirely different actors than we are so used to by now. So, before the imagination and the options for alternate Marvel movie casts run wild here, come take a look at the famous Hollywood actors who also auditioned to become a part of everyone’s beloved Marvel franchise.
So, as we’ve already mentioned, Tom Holland might’ve not become Spider-Man if not for Timothee Chalamet ‘completely blowing’ his audition way back in 2015. Now, we cannot say that we aren’t intrigued by the idea of Timothee as Spider-Man! In another curious case, Amanda Seyfried might’ve portrayed Gamora if not for the actress' dislike for being, well, green. Yet, however much fun it is to imagine entirely different Marvel actors from those who actually starred in the now-iconic movies, I guess we can all agree that the producers’ ultimate choices were actually spot-on in each case, and each of the famous actors delivered their roles with gusto. And much to our delight!
Now, with the introductions done, it’s time to satisfy everyone’s curiosity and learn which of the famous Hollywood actors aimed to become the next Spider-Man, Captain America, or Thor. As you’re about to see, it was basically the whole of Hollywood! Anyway, scroll on down to reveal the possibilities gone, and once your curiosity is satisfied, share this article with your Marvel Universe-crazy friends!
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Tom Hiddleston - Originally Auditioned To Play Thor In "Thor"
Nah, Hiddleston is Loki, and Hemsworth is the ultimate Thor!
Chadwick Boseman - Originally Auditioned To Play Drax In "Guardians Of The Galaxy"
However, the role went to Dave Bautista, who absolutely smashed this part.
Hugh Jackman — Iron Man
Okay, we have to admit that we wouldn't have minded Hugh Jackman in this role not a tiniest bit. However, Downey's charisma won over producers in the end.
I have a hard time imagining anyone other than RDJ as Ironman and anyone other than Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.
Sebastian Stan - Auditioned For Captain America
It looks like half of Hollywood wanted to become Captain America. However, there's only one of him!
Jake Gyllenhaal - Was Reportedly On The Shortlist For The Role Of Doctor Strange In "Doctor Strange"
Sorry, but Benedict Cumberbatch did such a great job in this role, that we couldn't imagine anyone else!
Michael B. Jordan - Originally Auditioned To Play The Falcon In "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"
That said, Anthony Mackie is now forever THE Sam Wilson/Falcon.
Angelina Jolie - Was Reportedly Considered For The Role Of Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow In "Iron Man 2"
But Scarlett Johansson did such an awesome job, that now it would be hard to imagine Angelina as Black Widow.
Mads Mikkelsen - Was Offered The Role Of Malekith In "Thor: The Dark World"
However, Mikkelsen had to decline the role due to scheduling conflicts with Hannibal and the role went to Christopher Eccleston instead.
Sam Rockwell - Was Considered For The Role Of Tony Stark In "Iron Man"
However, the producers finally decided on Robert Downey Jr.
Daniel Craig - Thor
Marvel contacted Daniel Craig about playing the adored superhero, but he declined to concentrate on playing James Bond 007 instead. We can't stop thinking that if he had gotten the role, we would have to call him Thor, James Thor.
Chris Pratt Tried Out For The Role Of Steve Rogers In "Captain America: The First Avenger"
Although we're pretty loyal to Pratt, this other Chris (Evans), did an absolute wonder of the job.
Timotheé Chalamet — Spider-Man
Can you imagine a world where Timothée Chalamet played Spider-man? While we wouldn't mind it at all, Tom Holland was basically born to become Spider-Man on screen!
Dominique Thorne - Originally Auditioned To Play Shuri In The "Black Panther"
However, the role went to Letitia Wright instead.
Natalie Portman - Was Reportedly In Consideration To Play "Black Widow"
Nah, Natalie will forever be the Black Swan, not the Black Widow.
Wyatt Russell - Auditioned To Play Captain America
We're not sure about this one, which one of these actors you would've chosen?
Djimon Hounsou - Originally Auditioned To Play Drax In "Guardians Of The Galaxy"
Djimon stayed in his usual role in Captain Marvel, while Dave Bautista became Drax.
Anthony Mackie - Tried Out To Play Trevor Slattery/The Mandarin In "Iron Man 3"
The role went to Sir Ben Kingsley.
Zooey Deschanel — The Wasp
The Wasp, the key female character in The Avengers, was going to be played by Zooey Deschanel! The whole premise of the movie, according to screenwriter Jeremy Latcham, revolved around Van Dyne's character, The Wasp. They soon abandoned the concept, though, after learning that Johansson would return to the role of Black Widow.
Lupita Nyong'o - Originally Auditioned To Play Nebula In "Guardians Of The Galaxy"
Although the role went to Karen Gillan, we sure would love to see the alternate version played by Lupita!
Karen Gillan - Auditioned To Play Carter/Agent 13 In "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"
The role went to Emily VanCamp, but aren't you curious how Gillan would've fulfilled it?
Mark Ruffalo - Was Actually Director Louis Leterrier's First Choice For The Hulk Role In "The Incredible Hulk"
Although Edward Norton played Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk, Mark replaced him afterward. And we must admit that it this case, we're absolutely Team Mark!
Amanda Seyfried — Gamora
Now, this has to be one of the funniest excuses for not taking up a role - Amanda Seyfried declined the offer to portray Gamora solely because getting green makeup each day on set would've been too much work!
Emily Blunt — Black Widow
Although Emily was everyone's top choice for the role of Natasha Romanoff, she had to decline due to conflict in contracts. We sure wouldn't minded her in this movie, though!
Lee Pace - Was Reportedly On The Shortlist To Potentially Play Star-Lord In "Guardians Of The Galaxy"
We're Team Chris Pratt here! His embodiment of the characters was so spot-on.
Zachary Levi - Auditioned For Star-Lord In "Guardians Of The Galaxy" And Got As Far As The Screen Tests
Still, no one beats the charm of Chris Pratt.
Wilson Bethel - Got Really Far In The Audition Process For Captain America
We wouldn't mind seeing Wilson as Captain America!
Tom Cruise — Iron Man
Although Marvel producers were a bit reluctant to cast Robert Downey Jr. for the Iron Man role, we sure glad they went with it!
Saoirse Ronan — Scarlet Witch
Everyone's curious about why Ronan declined the role, and we don't have the answer, either. However, it would've been interesting to see her portray the Scarlet Witch!
Michael Rosenbaum - Auditioned To Play Star-Lord In "Guardians Of The Galaxy"
Again, we're Team Chris Pratt - sorry Michael!
John Krasinski - Captain America
A pass from us - no concrete evidence here, but we agree on the producers' choice with on this one!