Sam Rockwell found himself in line for the role of ‘Iron Man’, too. In fact, he was one of the director’s top picks – that is, until RDJ threw his hat in the ring. But Rockwell excused himself from the running when he realized that Robert was perfect for the role. ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ actor would be back for more of the Marvel Universe in the future.
Just because Rockwell didn’t land the lead in ‘Iron Man’, didn’t mean producers didn’t want him to be a part of the show. So, for the 2nd film in the franchise, he was cast as salesman Justin Hammer. Not exactly a superhero, but he played it flawlessly, nonetheless. Most recently, Rockwell has been playing the role of Bob Fosse on the TV show ‘Fosse and Verdon’.
Timothy Olyphant as Iron Man
Now, this would have been interesting. Timothy Olyphant, star of 'The Santa Clarita Diet' alongside Drew Barrymore, almost played the role of billionaire bad boy Tony Stark in 'Iron Man'. Olyphant happened to be on the shortlist, but Robert Downey Jr. beat him out for the role. Once RDJ showed up, everyone knew the role was his – including Olyphant, who was a good sport about the whole thing.
Olyphant is an awesome actor, but it’s a bit hard to see him playing a superhero. But that doesn’t mean he’s given up hope on landing that role someday. For now, he stays busy filming his Netflix original, and he just landed a role in the upcoming season of 'Fargo'. Plus, the actor frequently appears on his friend, Conan O’Brien’s show.
Saoirse Ronan: The Scarlett Witch
Before Elizabeth Olsen graced the screen as Wanda Maximoff in Marvel’s 'Captain America: Civil War', 'Avengers: Age of Ultron' and 'Avengers: Infinity War', the part almost went to Irish actress Saoirse Ronan. Joss Whedon envisioned Ronan playing the role, but she didn’t end up taking an audition. The actress has expressed regret over not auditioning and she probably feels it a bit more now that Olsen’s character is being given her own TV show: 'WandaVision'.
Ronan is doing just fine without the help of the MCU, however. Just last year, Variety500 included her in a list of the 500 most influential business leaders in the entertainment industry. Plus, the 25-year old still has plenty of Hollywood years ahead of her, so maybe she’ll land an audition for one of their future films.
Kate Beckinsale in Wonder Woman
The 'Wonder Woman' film released in 2017 was an incredibly powerful movie that made over $820 million in the box office. The princess of the Amazon that everyone knows and loves is played by the gorgeous Gal Gadot, but that’s not how it started out when the first version of the film was almost released in 2000. In those years, the film was going to be directed by Joss Whedon and 'Underworld' star Kate Beckinsale was offered the role.
But why on Earth would Beckinsale turn down the chance to play such a massive part? The star reported in an interview that she was basically worn out from filming all of her action scenes in the 'Underworld' trilogy and didn’t want to take on such a similar role. Plus, you can almost bet that whatever version of 'Wonder Woman' would’ve made an appearance in 2000, it wouldn't have been the same as the amazing version that hit the screens 17 years later.
Val Kilmer: Captain America
You’re probably trying to figure out how it would’ve looked if Val Kilmer had played the new 'Captain America' rather than Chris Evans – but that’s not the film that we're referring to here. No, Kilmer was set to play the patriotic superhero in the 1990s version of the film, long before Chris Evans ever started acting (and probably before he even made it out of elementary school.)
Kilmer shot down the chance to play the part because he was set to star in 'The Doors' around the same time. And he probably doesn’t have a single regret about not taking the role, which was ultimately given to Matt Salinger. The first version kind of bombed, so he dodged a bullet there.