Random Actors Who Were THIS CLOSE to Playing Superheroes (20 items)

(#3) Emily Blunt
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Emily Blunt had just completed filming The Wolfman with Joe Johnston (director of First Avenger) when Marvel reportedly offered the English actress the part as Black Widow after a successful screen test, but Blunt couldn’t accept the role due to a contract with Fox for another film, which ended up being Gulliver’s Travels. Scarlett Johansson then got the part and was running around with Earth's Mightiest Heroes just a few short years later.
(#16) Common
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Common made his comic film debut in 2008’s Wanted as the Gunsmith, and that put him in the spotlight for another role - the ill-fated Justice League’s Green Lantern. After being fitted for the Green Lantern costume and undergoing hellish physical training alongside his co-stars, Common watched as the Writers Strike put the Justice League movie on hold. When the strike eventually ended, Warner Bros. decided not to move forward with a superhero team movie and Common's super dreams were crushed.
(#14) Armie Hammer
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Another casualty of George Miller's Justice League, Armie Hammer (star of The Lone Ranger and The Social Network) was cast as Batman. An odd choice, seeing as how Christian Bale was doing just fine as the Dark Knight at the time. Hammer had already been fitted for his own batsuit and had undergone several months of physical training in preparation for the Justice League film, only for it to stall out due to the Writers Guild strike, tax issues, and the success of The Dark Knight.
(#2) Marlon Wayans
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Before Joel Schumacher took over and subsequently ran the Batman franchise into the ground, Tim Burton planned to include Robin in Batman Returns, with a young Marlon Wayans officially signed on to play the Boy Wonder. He had even done costume tests. The character was dropped during pre-production, Wayans said, because there were "too many characters."
(#18) Sam Rockwell
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Before Robert Downey Jr. made Iron Man the film juggernaut that it is today, Jon Favreau had a shortlist of quirky character actors to bring on as Tony Stark. One of them was Sam Rockwell, a veteran of the screen who'd already played dashing characters like Confessions of a Dangerous Mind's Chuck Barris and the Charlie's Angels baddie Eric Knox. He didn't get the starring gig, but he did play a villainous role as Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2.
(#6) Joaquin Phoenix as Dr. Strange

He's known more for arthouse movies, but Joaquin Phoenix was the first choice to star as Stephen Strange in Doctor Strange. The actor spent more than three months negotiating with Marvel Studios, and came close enough to closing a deal to star that he was repeatedly reported to be fully on board.

Ultimately, though, Phoenix opted out and after an extended search, Marvel hired Benedict Cumberbatch as the Sorcerer Supreme. Phoenix eventually went on to play Arthur Fleck in Todd Phillips's Joker.