The Marvel Cinematic Universe features one of the most sprawling ensembles in the history of movies. Sometimes, it can be hard to think of famous faces that aren’t a part of it, but there are some actors who were in the running for certain MCU roles and ultimately didn’t take them on for one reason or another. These are the handful of famous actors who made it this close to joining the MCU, but ultimately didn’t get their membership cards.
Emily Blunt as Black Widow
Before she was forced out of the running by scheduling conflicts, Emily Blunt was apparently Jon Favreau’s first choice for the role of Natasha Romanoff, according to Den of Geek. An agreement with Fox forced her to film Gulliver’s Travels instead, and she’s never made her way back into the MCU in the years since. Blunt remains a fan favorite for the role of Sue Richards, but she says she doesn’t have any regrets about passing up the MCU.
“I don’t think I would have been able to do a lot of projects that I’ve loved doing,” she told Indiewire in 2018. “You can’t predict what’s going to happen, what’s going to catch fire and what’s not, so if I make the choice for me, and not because I’m contracted, I think that’s an exciting prospect.”
Daniel Craig as Thor
Daniel Craig was already James Bond when he was approached about taking on the role of the God of Thunder. He reportedly turned it down in part so that he could continue to focus on his other long-running franchise. He apparently confirmed in 2008 that he had been approached for the role, but ultimately chose to turn it down.
John Krasinski as Captain America
Somewhat famously, Krasinski was just below Evans on the list of people that Marvel considered for the role of Steve Rogers. In the years since, Krasinski has come to accept the fact that he didn’t land the role. “I love Chris, I’ve been a friend of his for a while,” he told Indiewire in 2018. “Those movies are so much fun, and I love watching them, I tell him I’m first in line to see his new movies. It’s that Zen thing of let life take you where it may, and I never would have been here if I had gotten ‘Captain America.'”
Zooey Deschanel as The Wasp
In an early draft of the script for The Avengers, there were plans to have The Wasp show up. According to a producer on the project, Deschanel was the first choice for the role, and the idea was to include herp in part because it wasn’t clear whether Johansson would be available. “It was all about The Wasp. He wanted to cast Zooey Deschanel. [Wasp] was the funniest character in the whole movie, and well-written,” producer Jeremy Latcham explained.
Alison Brie as Sharon Carter
Brie was one of many names on the casting list for Sharon Carter, Steve’s sometimes-love interest. Brie was considered a frontrunner in part because of her connection to the Russo brothers, who directed episodes of Community. “I wouldn’t be opposed to it,” Brie told MTV when talking about their ascendance inside of the MCU. “I’m excited that they’re going to do it. I think they’re going to bring something different to it. I love the Russo brothers. I just adore them.”
Jason Momoa as Drax
Momoa ultimately got to play Aquaman, but he was rumored to be in consideration for the role of Drax before he won that job. Ultimately, Momoa turned it down.
“I want my children to see their father happy,” he told Zap2it. It’s not that it’s not a good role, it just wasn’t the right thing. I was on Stargate: Atlantis for four years playing a similar character called Ronon, who was an alien who didn’t say much and grunted. I’ve been there and done that, whether people have seen it or not. You want to stretch,”
Asa Butterfield as Peter Parker
Butterfield was one of the final names in the running to take on Peter Parker when he joined the MCU, but Tom Holland wound up in the role instead. In speaking with Collider, Butterfield said that he’s had to learn how to handle losing out on great roles.
“Every so often there’s a part [that you really want] and it’s a script you love, and you kind of put your heart and soul into it, and you don’t get it,” he said. “And it is tough and it is s—, but I often find that something even better comes out of it at the end. And so in the case of Spider-Man, I did [Sex Education], because I wouldn’t have been able to do both of those at the same time.”
Joaquin Phoenix as Doctor Strange
Joaquin Phoenix eventually did take on a comic book role, but he was pretty close to being cast as the Sorcerer Supreme in 2016’s Doctor Strange. He ultimately lost out on the role to Benedict Cumberbatch but explained in a 2018 interview that he still enjoys Marvel movies, and believes they have an important place in the movie landscape.
Matthew McConaughey as Ego the Living Planet
In an interview with Playboy in 2017, McConaughey revealed that he was ultimately forced to choose between playing the villain in Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 or taking the role he ultimately took in The Dark Tower. “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—aka the Devil—in my version of this Stephen King novel,” the actor said. The role of Ego ultimately went to Kurt Russell.
Yahya Abdul-Mahteen II as M’Baku
Yahya Abdul-Mahteem II got his chance to shine as Black Manta in Aquaman, but he has yet to appear in an MCU project. When Winston Duke officially joined the cast of Black Panther in 2016, though, Variety noted that Abdul-Mahteen had also been in consideration for the role. Duke has made the most of his screen time as M’Baku, and Abdul-Mahteen went on to earn an Emmy in the meantime for his role in another superhero adjacent property, the 2019 update to Watchmen that aired on HBO.