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We can’t imagine anyone else other than Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne in theDark Night Trilogy. But do you know that Cillian Murphy was almost the Caped Crusader in Nolan’s take on Batman?
TheOppenheimerstar put all his effort into securing the role, but he was aware of the fact that the competition is tough, particularly when Bale jumped into the ring.
Nolan liked Murphy’s performance and offered him the role of central villain Jonathan Crane, aka The Scarecrow. But this is not the first time an actor who was almost the lead superhero ended up becoming their arch-nemesis.
Let’s talk about the four instances where actors who are known for playing Marvel villains were close to portraying the superheroes.
Also read:“It felt like a frustrating moment”: Hayley Atwell Would Rather Work Behind a Mic than In Front of a Camera After Adorning the Title of Captain Carter
4 Marvel Villain Actors Who Nearly Became Superhero
Here is the list of 4 Marvel villain actors who could have almost become superheroes.
1Tom Hiddleston
Chris Hemsworthis the kind of actor who manages to look like Thor even when he’s not donned in his superhero costume, thanks to his muscular physique. But to everyone’s surprise, he wasn’t the first choice to play Thor. It wasLokistar,Tom Hiddleston, who was almost considered to play the role.
Hiddleston also put on some muscle to look more authentic for the audition of the hammer-wielding God. It would be shocking to know that Hemsworth failed his initial audition.
But he was given another chance, and he made it this time as the God of Thunder, and Hiddleston was given the role of Thor’s evil step-brother and major MCU villain, Loki.
2Sam Rockwell
There’s no doubt that the highly skilled and effective superhero of the MCU, Iron Man, is the one who helped the franchise to reach heights of success.
Earlier, when the MCU was just starting out, the studio had to think hard about who would play the genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist, Tony Stark.
AndSam Rockwellwas one of the actors who was up for the role. He was even personally supported by the director, Jon Favreau.
ButRobert Downey Jr.‘s audition outperformed all those who were in line for the role of the original Avengers team member and leader. Even though Rockwell didn’t secure the lead role, he left a positive impression to be later cast as one of the main villains, Justin Hammer, inIron Man 2.
Also read:“Thanos nearly died himself with a gauntlet”: Marvel Fans Try to Debunk One Mystery Around Captain Carter From What If Season 2
3Jake Gyllenhaal
Marvel fans knowJake Gyllenhaalas supervillain Mysterio. But he could have also been the Spidey we know today. The original Spider-Man (starringTobey Maguireas the webbed wall-crawler) was a huge hit.
But its production faced challenges because Maguire experienced physical injuries from a mishap on another film set. It seemed like he would not be able to reprise his role as Peter Parker in theSpider-Mansequel.
His injury was so serious that other actors were put into consideration in case the replacement of Maguire was needed. Gyllenhaal was quite close to being cast as the new Spidey.
But Maguire returned to the role. Gyllenhaal had to wait for a decade to be a part of theSpider-Mansaga, only to become Mysterio inSpider-Man: Far From Home.
4James Franco
James Francobecame famous for the 2002 superhero filmSpider-Manwhen he played Harry Osborn—the son of the villainous Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) and best friend of Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire).
He then went on to reprise his role inSpider-Man 2andSpider-Man 3. But originally, he was considered for the lead role of Spider-Man/Peter Parker in the film. Though it’s not confirmed why Franco didn’t appear as the superhero.
But, it is believed that Disney avoided casting him because he is linked to sexual misconduct allegations. Another reason was that the filmmaker didn’t like Franco’s audition, but he was impressed enough to give him the role of Peter’s best friend.
As the story continues, the friendship between Peter and Harry deteriorates, and that’s how Franco’s character becomes the new Green Goblin inSpider-Man 3.
Shreya Jha
Articles Published :1042
Meet Shreya, FandomWire’s go-to Pop-Culture Writer. She holds a master’s degree in Journalism and a pop culture obsession that rivals even the most die-hard ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel fans.Her articles have been published in Animated Times, Creator Mail, and The Luxxe Mag. When Shreya’s not busy dishing out hot takes, she is lost in the world of rom-coms.
