‘Titanic’ star Leonardo DiCaprio has been contacted by Marvel on more than one occasion to play the role of a superhero. The first was when he was invited to play Batman’s sidekick, Robin, in the 1995 film ‘Batman Forever’. Years after he declined that role, they called him up again to ask him if he was interested in starring as Peter Parker in ‘Spider-Man’. But once again, the A-lister turned down the chance to join the Marvel family.
When he was asked why later on, DiCaprio said he felt that, at the time, they weren’t “complex characters.”
Olivia Wilde as Gamora
'Guardians of the Galaxy' was almost an entirely different film than the one we all know and love. Joseph Gordon Levitt almost played Star Lord, Matthew McConaughey almost joined the cast and Olivia Wilde was first choice to play Gamora. After kicking butt in her roles in 'Tron: Legacy' and 'Alpha Dog', it’s no wonder she was invited to play the tough heroine.
But alas, Wilde turned down the role, clearing the way for Zoe Saldana to come in and make the part her own. It may have taken Marvel a few rejections to get the 'Guardians' cast, but at least they ended up with the perfect actors and actresses. After all, can you picture anyone else playing the feisty, green-faced alien?
Tom Cruise as Iron Man
Rumor has it that boozy, badass billionaire Tony Stark was almost played by 'Mission Impossible' star Tom Cruise. In fact, word is that he accepted the role, but things ended up falling through when the studio’s schedule clashed with Cruise’s.
Luckily, the role of Iron Man was filled by the amazing Robert Downey Jr., who the films wouldn’t be the same without. Plus, Tom Cruise may have not played a flat-out superhero, but he’s come close in his roles in action hits like 'Top Gun'.
Dougray Scott: Wolverine
Ah, 1999: the year when everyone was quite certain that the world was going to plunge into chaos after every machine on the face of the Earth crashed, along with planes, trains and automobiles, as soon as the computers hit quadruple 0’s. Luckily, the world is still standing, but something exciting did happen that year – Dougray Scott was asked to play Wolverine in 'X-Men', and he said yes.
So why is it that no one’s seen Dougray Scott rocking the Wolverine claws? Around the same time, Tom Cruise had personally chosen him to play the bad guy in 'Mission Impossible 2'. So, Scott let go of the role which led to it being filled by Hugh Jackman. And hey, who’s complaining?
John Krasinski as Captain America?
Picture this: Jim from 'The Office' in red and blue spandex fighting off the villains as Captain America. Well, believe it or not, John Krasinski has broken away from his funny guy typecasting to take on more serious roles lately, such as his part in Michael Bay’s '13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi'. So, he decided to try his hand and audition for the role of America’s favorite captain.
While Chris Evans ultimately walked away with the part, Krasinski says he’s got no regrets for taking the chance. Plus, he was a good sport when he got the rejection (on his wife’s birthday, no less), laughed it off and said he could see why they cast Evans.