Black Widow and Hawkeye are often dismissed in favor of their fellow Avengers, because they don’t have any superpowers. But they’re integral to the team. They’re two of the only people in the world that can be trusted by Nick Fury, founder of the Avengers Initiative, and the fact that two regular people can fight alongside a god, a super soldier, and a giant green Mr. Hyde monster is pretty awesome.
The roles have been played spectacularly in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner, but they weren’t the first actors that the producers considered for the roles.
Black Widow: Natalie Portman
Prior to the casting of Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman was under consideration for the role of Black Widow. Portman went on to play a different MCU role, Jane Foster, Thor’s love interest.
The role of Jane involved significantly less action and physicality than the role of Black Widow, but that’s about to change as Taika Waititi is giving the powers of the God of Thunder to Jane in the next movie, Thor: Love and Thunder.
Black Widow: Jessica Biel
Jessica Biel, who previously appeared in Blade: Trinity, was one of the actors considered to play Black Widow. Given the disappointment of many of Biel’s 2010s movies, like The A-Team reboot that failed to launch a franchise and the Total Recall remake that didn’t go to Mars, she probably regrets missing out on the part.
Still, Biel’s been busy in recent years. She starred in the first season of the anthology crime series The Sinner and has stayed on board as a producer for each subsequent season.
Hawkeye: Jensen Ackles
Before Jeremy Renner was cast as Hawkeye, the producers’ first choice for the role was Jensen Ackles, the star of Supernatural. Ackles turned down the role, however, because of scheduling conflicts with Supernatural.
Ackles had previously auditioned for the role of Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger, but of course, Chris Evans ended up clinching the part.
Black Widow: Jessica Alba
Jessica Alba was considered for the role of Natasha Romanoff before Scarlett Johansson landed the part. Alba had previously played the Invisible Woman in 20th Century Fox’s first attempt at launching a Fantastic Four franchise, taking center stage in the sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer.
Alba’s career as a movie star has been stuck in a slump in recent years, with her most notable roles being a cameo as herself in the Entourage movie and a supporting role in Mechanic: Resurrection, so playing Black Widow could’ve served her well.
Black Widow: Gemma Arterton
Since her big break in St. Trinian’s, Gemma Arterton has made a name for herself with a fantastic lead performance in The Disappearance of Alice Creed and a memorable turn as a Bond girl called Strawberry Fields in Quantum of Solace. But she could’ve boosted her profile even more in 2010, as she was considered for the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2.
Arterton has yet to play a major superhero, but she has played action-oriented roles in blockbusters like Clash of the Titans, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (co-starring Avenger Jeremy Renner).
Hawkeye: Josh Holloway
After Jensen Ackles turned down the role of Clint Barton and before Jeremy Renner accepted it, Josh Holloway – best known as Sawyer from Lost – was also considered for the part. The role could’ve done wonders for Holloway’s career. As it stands, his most prominent film work is a cameo appearance in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and a supporting turn in the muddled Arnold Schwarzenegger actioner Sabotage.
Holloway had previously been offered a different Marvel role outside the MCU, Remy LeBeau (a.k.a Gambit) in X-Men: The Last Stand, but the role was cut from the movie.
Black Widow: Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie was considered for the role of Black Widow before Scarlett Johansson was cast. Jolie has mostly avoided blockbuster franchises, although she did star in sequels to both Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and Maleficent. If she’d played Black Widow, Jolie might’ve been prevented from making a name for herself as a director throughout the 2010s with projects like Unbroken and First They Killed My Father.
Jolie will finally join the MCU in Phase Four, playing the role of Thena in the upcoming Eternals movie alongside such stars as Richard Madden, Gemma Chan, Kumail Nanjiani, and Salma Hayek.
Black Widow: Emily Blunt
Emily Blunt was the producers’ top choice to play Natasha Romanoff in Iron Man 2 and was even offered the part without having to audition. However, she turned it down because the shooting schedule conflicted with Gulliver’s Travels.
Blunt was later offered the role of Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger, but she turned that down, too. Interestingly, her husband John Krasinski was offered the role of Steve Rogers, so Steve and Peggy could’ve been played by a real-life married couple.