12 Actors Who Told The MCU, "I'll Never Join" And 15 Who Said, "Put Me In, Coach!"
Some of the biggest stars in Hollywood have donned a super suit in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — but not every actor wants a chance to bring a comic character to life.
Disney+ / Via giphy.com
However, for every actor who'd turn down a Marvel role without a second thought, there's one who'd leap at the chance in a heartbeat.
There are also several actors from non-MCU Marvel projects who'd love to see their characters join the official MCU.
Here are 12 actors who would never be in a Marvel movie:
1.Though being forced to turn down the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2 due to contractual obligations was "a bit of a heartbreaker" for Emily Blunt, she now doesn't "know if superhero movies are for [her]" because she really doesn't like them.
On The Howard Stern Show, she said that the superhero genre was "exhausted' because "we are inundated — it’s not only all the movies, it’s the endless TV shows as well."
2.John Cho isn't interested in doing a superhero movie because he doesn't "particularly want to diet...or work out like crazy." He also takes issue with the multi-picture deals such films require, which he called "indentured-servitude contracts."
He told Vulture, "If you play, you know, Condorman, you’re young, you’re just in from Ohio or whatever, you’re signing a 15-year contract, and they have the option to make three or four. That’s the weird thing about it."
3.Prior to his breakout role in Call Me By Your Name, Timothée Chalamet actually auditioned for the role of Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but more recently, he recalled some acting advice "one of [his] heroes" gave him — "No hard drugs — and no superhero movies.”
He told Time that he attributed his fame to "a combination of luck and getting good advice early in my career not to pigeonhole myself."
4.Amanda Seyfried loves watching Marvel movies, but she doesn't "want to put on the suit" because after doing stunt work for Pan, she never wants to do it again.
On Late Night with Seth Meyers, she said "When I signed on [for Pan] there was no wire work or green screen stuff happening to my character. I am not playing a fairy, so why would I be flying around? ...Two months ago, I had to go back to London and I was flying and I was like, ‘Please, I didn’t sign up for it!’”
She previously turned down the role of Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy because she "didn’t want to be green for six months out of every year" and didn't think she'd be happy in the role.
5.When Matthew McConaughey asked to play Hulk, but Marvel turned him down. A few years down the road, they offered him a role in Guardians of the Galaxy 2, but he denied them because he didn't want to "feel like an amendment."
He told Playboy, "I like Guardians of the Galaxy, but what I saw was, 'It's successful, and now we've got room to make a colourful part for another big-name actor.'"
6.Reese Witherspoon has never done a live-action superhero movie, and she told Entertainment Weekly that the prospect "doesn’t interest [her] too much."
However, she was extremely supportive of Captain Marvel, the first female-led Marvel film, and praised Brie Larson for "inspiring young girls all over the world."
7.Jon Hamm has been considered for several superhero roles, but he thinks turning down them down was the "right decision" because "you are signed on for not only the movie that you are signed on for…but at least two more that you haven’t read and you have no idea what they are going to be and all the crossover ones you are going to have to do."
He told the Radio Times, "It’s a lot of work at one thing which is not necessarily the reason I got into the business which is to do many things. If you want to spend all day pressing the same key that…seems an odd choice."
While he isn't interested in playing a live-action hero, he does voice Iron Man in the animated series M.O.D.O.K.
8.Jennifer Aniston said that "big Marvel movies" are "diminishing" the value of cinema.
Her statement was heavily criticized by Marvel fans.
9.Jason Statham has "no ambition" to be in a Marvel movie because "any guy can do it" and, in his opinion, they rely too heavily on green screens, stunt doubles, and huge budgets.
He told I 400 Calci, "I could take my grandma and put her in a cape, and they’ll put her on a green screen, and they’ll have stunt doubles come in and do all the action."
Kevin Feige later revealed that Statham was offered a Marvel role, but he politely turned it down.
10.Criticizing the status of superhero movies as tentpole films, Rose McGowan said that she quit acting because "it got so boring in front of the camera" and she didn't "want green goblins and tight outfits."
On Instagram, she said, "Where are the human stories?...I want intelligence, daring work that drives society forward. I want a mirror, not every cliché regurgitated ad nauseum."
11.Josh Hartnett turned down the role of Superman because he "somehow knew those roles had potential to define [him]."
He told Details, "I didn't want to be labeled as Superman for the rest of my career. I was maybe 22, but I saw the danger."
12.And Sean Penn lamented that Marvel movies have taken up too much space and "claimed so much time in the careers of so many talented people.”
He told the Toronto Star that he misses films that weren't "just razzle-dazzle, Cirque de Soleil movies.”
And now, here are 15 actors who are begging for a Marvel role:
13.John Krasinski said he would love to play Mister Fantastic in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot because "to be a part of the Marvel world would be amazing anyway" and "the fact that people would even consider [him] for that level of a part would be amazing."
He told ComicBook.com, "I genuinely have had no conversations or don't know anything that's happening with that. I'm awaiting Kevin [Feige]'s announcements of what the hell's happening with that as much as you are."
He previously auditioned for Captain America.
14.Nhut Le said he'd love to play "a different iteration of the Ancient One" in the Doctor Strange universe.
He told the Direct, "[It] would be really interesting just because I look so young. Maybe it could be like a commentary on old souls using a human vessel."
15.Method Man is "ready" to play a Marvel lead because he's "got the shirt-off action film thing" and "could run, stoic, face straight, running with your shirt off kinda thing."
He told Insider, "You know, I’m ready, man. Come on Marvel. Come on Russo brothers, I’m here.”
The founding Wu-Tang Clan member previously appeared in Luke Cage as himself.
16.Janelle Monáe has "definitely thrown it out there" that "one of [her] dreams has always been to play Storm" — a role she'd love to play in the Black Panther movies.
She told Empire, "It would be a dream to have her in it. I don’t know where they are with that. A lot of women have played Storm and they’ve done an exceptional job, and I would love to be in that line of artists and get to do Storm justice."
17.Halle Berry, who played Storm in 20th Century Fox's X-Men franchise, is willing to "revisit" the role in the future.
She told ComicBook.com, "I loved all [Storm and Catwoman] and I was always grateful to get to play them and be a part of those big franchises, you know? So I would revisit any of them."
18.Lana Condor played Jubilee in X-Men: Apocalypse, and now that Disney owns the rights to the X-Men, she "would love to go back and do something with her" because "she’s a fantastic character and now...is the perfect time to give her what she deserves."
She told the Wrap, "I think that now is a really good time and I would really like to do her justice because she didn’t have it five years ago and I don’t think ever has."
19.Norman Reedus wants to play Ghost Rider in a remake of the 2007 film, and he's fueled fan speculation about his casting for years by liking tweets and sharing fan art depicting him as the hero.
He told Comicbook.com, "The Ghost Rider conversation has been coming up for years, and yeah, tell them to put me in it."
20.Jessica Chastain rejected the role of Christine Palmer in Doctor Strange because she wanted to play a superhero instead of an ordinary human, but after playing the villain Vuk in Dark Phoenix, she now wants to play an MCU villain "that's already been established in the comic books" because "villains have more fun."
She told ComicBook.com, "I would like it to be a villain that you don't have to sign such a long deal for. I'm a one-and-done kind of girl. So it would be great to play a character that was naughty and then would disappear."
21.Eddie Redmayne said he wants to play "some sort of weird English baddie" in a Marvel movie because "they look like they have quite a lot of fun."
The actor previously auditioned for role of Harry Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
He told MTV, "I tested for Spider-Man to play opposite Andrew Garfield, who's an old pal. That would've been fun."
22.Despite auditioning for several Marvel roles, Alison Brie has yet to book a part. However, she directed an episode of Marvel's 616, and she told Comicbook.com that she "absolutely would be open to working with them again in front of, or behind the camera again."
23.Kevin Smith has no interest in directing a Marvel movie, but, in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, he'd like to play Willie Lumpkin, the mailman previously played by Stan Lee.
He told ET Canada, "That’s a character who doesn’t get into any trouble. He pops in, delivers the mail. Maybe he gets involved in an adventure here or there. That’s my speed."
Smith already has ties to Stan Lee in the MCU. In his Captain Marvel cameo, Lee can be seen reading a screenplay of Smith's film Mallrats.
Smith previously played Jack Kirby in Daredevil.
24.Ryan Hurst manifested his desire to play Sentry in a post asking Instagram to "do your thing."
He said, "I’m very often asked if I would like to play a character from a comic book? Yes. Who? I didn’t know for a while. Such a fan of so many, but yeah. Dude with troubled past, super powers equal/greater to SUPERMAN and Thor combined…and talks to dogs. I’m putting this out there. This dude. I’d like to play."
25.After Marvel canceled Gambit, Channing Tatum "was so traumatized" that he hasn't "been able to see any of the movies" — but he would still "love to play" the character in the future.
He told Variety, "Disney had just gotten the X-Men from Fox...I think they needed to redesign the ‘X-Men’ from the ground up.”
26.Jason Momoa removed himself from running for the role of Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy because it was too similar to other characters he's played, but he would really love to play Wolverine.
He also previously met with the Russo brothers to discuss an undisclosed Marvel villain role, but it didn't work out.
27.And finally, Keanu Reeves said "it would be an honor" to join the MCU — and he confirmed that he's been in talks with Kevin Feige about finding where he could fit.
He told Esquire, "There's some really amazing directors, and visionaries, and they're doing something no one's ever really done. It's special in that sense in terms of the scale, the ambition, the production. So it'd be cool to be a part of that."
