Movies
Five movie stars who rejected Marvel or DC roles
Not all actors are keen to play superheroes or villains on the big screen
Marvel and DC roles have propelled both young and experienced actors to a new level of stardom, but not everyone is jumping for that opportunity.
Recently, it was revealed that Evangeline Lilly turned down Hugh Jackman’s offer to join the ‘X-Men’ franchise despite later playing Hope van Dyne in the MCU.
Here are five movie stars who turned down a Marvel or DC role.
Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt was offered the role of Black Widow for the character’s MCU debut in ‘Iron Man 2′, but was forced to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts with ‘Gulliver’s Travels’.
“It was a bit of a heartbreaker for me,” Blunt told Howard Stern.
The role was eventually given to Scarlett Johansson.
A second opportunity for Blunt to join the MCU came around in the form of Peggy Carter. However, she again had to decline due to scheduling issues. The role was then given to Hayley Atwell.
Jason Momoa
While Jason Momoa is best known to superhero fans as DC’s Aquaman, he was almost cast as Drax the Destroyer in ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy’. However, he said the role was not appealing to him.
Momoa told IGN: “I’ve done so many things where I don’t say much and I’m colored up and I have my shirt off again.”
Drax is played by David Bautista.
Madonna
The Queen of Pop was close to playing Catwoman in ‘Batman Returns’, but she rejected the role.
Decades later, she came to regret her decision, which she stated to Jimmy Fallon: “I regret that I turned down Catwoman.”
Michelle Pfeiffer was eventually given the role.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Joel Schumacher, the director of ‘Batman Forever’, originally wanted Leonardo DiCaprio to play Robin, but DiCaprio ultimately passed over the role.
In an interview with ShortList, DiCaprio said he “took the meeting, but didn’t want to play the role.”
Robin was instead played by Chris O’Donnell.
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix has solidified himself as one of the best Jokers in movie history next to Heath Ledger. Before he became a DC villain, Phoenix was close to playing Marvel’s Doctor Strange.
The role was eventually given to Benedict Cumberbatch.