Hollywood casting decisions have a funny way of looking inevitable once a movie actually reaches theaters. It becomes almost impossible to picture anyone else in the part, and the actor’s face gets permanently welded to the role. Yet behind nearly every iconic franchise lead sits a paper trail of screen tests, signed contracts, and last minute scheduling conflicts that came within a hair of handing the part to someone else entirely.
Some of these near misses belong to actors who went on to build entirely different franchise identities elsewhere, only for audiences to later stumble across the audition tapes or interview clips confirming just how close things really got. The eight stories below, drawn from actor interviews, director recollections, and studio history, show how differently a few of the biggest franchises in modern film might have turned out.
Will Smith and The Matrix’s Neo
Before Will Smith became a fixture of the Men in Black franchise, the Wachowskis wanted him for something entirely different. Smith recalled that he was initially offered the lead role, while Val Kilmer was being considered to play Morpheus. The pitch itself, though, left him cold, since he admitted he couldn’t understand the filmmakers’ vision after hearing their explanation of the movie’s innovative visual effects.
he passed on Neo and The Matrix to instead star in Wild Wild West, a decision he has since called one of the biggest regrets of his career. The role went to Keanu Reeves instead, and Smith later admitted he thought Keanu Reeves and Lawrence Fishburne were perfect in their roles as Neo and Morpheus, respectively. Years afterward, he’d pass on another franchise lead too, since Smith also turned down a role as the most iconic comic book character of all time in Superman Returns… turned it down because the pressure of playing such an iconic character was too much.
Tom Selleck and Indiana Jones
Long before Blue Bloods, Tom Selleck was Steven Spielberg and George Lucas’s actual choice for archaeologist adventurer Indiana Jones. Steven Spielberg revealed he wanted Tom Selleck to play Indiana Jones in the film franchise. He didn’t just get close either. After the audition, Selleck secured the role to play the titular character.
The whole thing fell apart over television, not talent. He turned it down due to his commitment to CBS’ Magnum P.I., which aired for eight seasons from 1980 to 1988, around the same time the first three Indiana Jones filmed. Harrison Ford, who took the role instead, later thanked Selleck publicly, saying Tom Selleck had the job but he also had an occurring obligation to do a television series that CBS refused to release him from.
Emily Blunt and Black Widow
Years before A Quiet Place made her a horror franchise lead in her own right, Emily Blunt was Marvel’s first pick for Natasha Romanoff. The actress was the first choice to play the character in 2010’s Iron Man 2 and was given the role ahead of Scarlett Johansson by director Jon Favreau. A prior studio deal ruined the plan, since multiple outlets reported that the Devil Wears Prada actress turned down the part… because of scheduling conflicts and a contractual agreement with 20th Century Fox, which had her star alongside Jack Black in Gulliver’s Travels.
Oddly enough, it wasn’t her only brush with the Marvel Cinematic Universe that year, because a similar complication kept her from playing Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger. Blunt later admitted the loss stung more than people realized, telling Howard Stern “I was contracted to do Gulliver’s Travels. I didn’t want to do Gulliver’s Travels.” Scarlett Johansson took the role instead and stayed with the character for more than a decade.
Henry Cavill and James Bond
Long before he suited up as Superman for Warner Bros., Cavill tried out for a very different British icon. Cavill was ultimately too young to play Bond, as he was only 22 at the time he auditioned for Casino Royale. Reportedly, the final choice came down to Cavill or Daniel Craig, with producers ultimately opting for the latter.
Casino Royale director Martin Campbell has spoken warmly of the audition ever since, saying “He looked great in the audition. His acting was tremendous.” Campbell went even further years later, arguing if Daniel didn’t exist, Henry would have made an excellent Bond. Instead, Cavill went on to lead the DC Extended Universe as Superman, trading one massive franchise for another.
John Krasinski and Captain America
Krasinski, now best known for A Quiet Place and Jack Ryan, got remarkably close to becoming Steve Rogers. Both Krasinski and Evans were on the Captain America shortlist, with Krasinski even doing an audition in the costume, but the role ultimately went to Evans.
The story behind his exit has become one of Hollywood’s better known casting anecdotes. Chris Hemsworth, who had recently been cast as Thor, saw The Office star half-suited and said he looked good, but Krasinski knew immediately that he’d never measure up to Hemsworth’s physique as a fellow superhero. He and Evans still joke about it today, and Krasinski has since pointed out that missing the part left him free to make A Quiet Place, so things worked out fine for both of them.
Chris Pratt and Captain America
Years before he became Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy, Chris Pratt actually tried out for a very different Marvel icon. Then came the open casting call, which included Chris Pratt (who would go on to play Peter Quill/Star-Lord in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies), Jensen Ackles, Chad Michael Murray, and John Krasinski.
Pratt didn’t advance past the open casting stage, and the role ultimately went to Chris Evans. Looking back, it’s genuinely hard to picture Pratt’s loose comedic energy carrying the earnest, square jawed weight of Steve Rogers, and Marvel clearly found a better outlet for him a few years later when Guardians of the Galaxy needed its own leading man.
Johnny Depp and The Matrix’s Neo
Before Pirates of the Caribbean turned him into one of the biggest franchise stars of the 2000s, Depp’s name was floated for an entirely different sci-fi icon. Discussing who else was in contention for Neo alongside Will Smith, Val Kilmer was also at one point considered for Neo, along with famous names like Nicolas Cage, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, and Sandra Bullock.
Depp has never gone into detail about how serious those conversations got, and the specifics remain far murkier than Smith’s well documented near miss. Still, his name sitting on that same shortlist is a reminder of just how wide a net the Wachowskis cast before Keanu Reeves ultimately became the face of the franchise.
Nicolas Cage and Superman
Long before Cage became the on screen Ghost Rider for Sony’s Marvel franchise, he was actually signed on to play a very different superhero. In the mid 1990s, director Tim Burton cast Cage as the lead of Superman Lives, a planned relaunch of the Superman film series that collapsed during pre-production before a single frame of footage was shot.
Costume tests and script pages from the abandoned project have circulated online for decades, turning the unmade film into one of the most discussed what-if stories in comic book movie history. The collapse of the project eventually became the subject of its own feature length documentary, and Superman himself wouldn’t return to the big screen in a major new incarnation until Man of Steel arrived years later with Henry Cavill in the role.
