One of the most consistently praised elements of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is its casting. Sarah Finn has chosen the perfect actor to play each of the roles in the MCU. This started with casting the two stars of the Infinity Saga – Tony Stark and Steve Rogers – for their Phase One introduction ahead of 2012’s The Avengers.
Robert Downey, Jr. and Chris Evans turned out to be the ideal choices for these roles, embodying their characters beautifully and sharing tangible on-screen chemistry as superheroes with conflicting ideologies but the same moxie. However, they weren’t the producers’ first choices for each part.
Updated on May 9th, 2021 by Melody MacReady: As more time has passed, more names have been dropped as to who Marvel looked at for these iconic roles. This just shows how much of good luck it was that Marvel Studios settled on Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. Kevin Feige, the directors, and casting director Sarah Finn had their eyes on everybody in Hollywood except for the ones they ended up choosing. Would the Marvel Cinematic Universe be the same with some of these choices or would the characters' respective series have gone in drastically different directions? Only the massive Multiverse knows the answer to that question.
Iron Man: Timothy Olyphant
One of the most underrated actors working, Timothy Olyphant has done action, comedy, thriller, horror, and has now joined Star Wars, even though it was a very brief role. Timothy Olyphant has made a name for himself as one that can play many types of roles from hero to villain.
His most famous work was in the show Justified which ran for many seasons. Apparently, he auditioned for the role of the MCU Iron Man on the same day as Robert Downey Jr. Given his roles in the past, Olyphant could have easily knocked it out of the park with Stark's quips and eccentric personality.
Captain America: Garrett Hedlund
After getting his big blockbuster break with Tron: Legacy, Garrett Hedlund actually turned down Captain America. He himself stated that he did not want to play another heroic character right after Tron. Since Marvel movies weren't nearly at the height they are now, it's not impossible to see why.
Tron: Legacy has its fans but it was a financial flop at the box office. Since then, Garrett has starred in films including Triple Frontier, Mudbound, and Unbroken, showing off his range.
Iron Man: Sam Rockwell
One of the names on the casting shortlist for Tony Stark was Sam Rockwell, who would eventually go on to play Justin Hammer, a wannabe Stark with malicious intent, in Iron Man 2. Before that, Sam Rockwell was a top contender for the Joker in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.
If Rockwell had played Tony, then we might’ve missed out on his terrific performances in movies like Seven Psychopaths, Vice, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.
Captain America: Sebastian Stan
Before Chris Evans was cast to play Steve Rogers, Sebastian Stan screen-tested for the role alongside such actors as Ryan Phillippe and Kellan Lutz.
Although he didn’t clinch the role of Rogers, Stan was cast as his best friend, Bucky Barnes, a role that ended up lasting even longer in the MCU than Captain America. This was fortunate because most fans would agree that he was born to play the Winter Soldier.
Iron Man: Hugh Jackman
The role of Tony Stark was initially offered to Hugh Jackman, but he turned it down because the scheduling of a whole new superhero franchise would’ve clashed with his commitments to the X-Men movies as Wolverine.
Plus, if he was playing two flagship franchise superheroes at once, Jackman probably wouldn’t have had time to do smaller standalone projects like Prisoners and Eddie the Eagle. Though he likely would have crushed it as Iron Man.
Captain America: Chris Pratt
Chris Pratt screen-tested for the role of the MCU Captain America a few years before he would be cast as Peter Quill in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy. He wasn't even the first choice for Star-Lord as Joseph Gordon Levitt was eyed for that role at first.
Playing Quill would lead to Pratt landing a bunch of action-oriented roles in movies like the Jurassic World series and The Magnificent Seven remake, but the actor auditioned for a ton of action blockbusters before getting cast in one, including Avatar, Star Trek, G.I. Joe, and Superman Returns.
Iron Man: Nicolas Cage
The producers of Iron Man considered Nicolas Cage for the title role. Cage had previously played Marvel hero Johnny Blaze in a Ghost Rider movie and later appeared in a sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.
Cage is a lifelong comic book fan. At one point, the actor was in possession of a near-mint condition copy of Action Comics No. 1, the first appearance of Superman, which cost him a whopping $2.1 million. He was also in line to play Superman in a Tim Burton movie that got scrapped.
Captain America: Scott Eastwood
Scott Eastwood was one of the actors that Marvel screen-tested for the role of Captain America in the MCU. For those who can't tell just by one look at him, he is the son of the legendary Clint Eastwood of the Man With No Name saga and Dirty Harry fame.
While the younger Eastwood has been consistently getting work in blockbusters like The Fate of the Furious and David Ayer's Suicide Squad, playing Captain America likely would have turned him into a massive star.
Iron Man: Leonardo DiCaprio
When Iron Man was first in development, the producers considered Leonardo DiCaprio for the role of Tony Stark. This could’ve been pretty great. DiCaprio could’ve played Iron Man as a superpowered Jordan Belfort.
Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. DiCaprio is one of the rare movie stars working today who’s managed to maintain his profile without getting involved in any franchise.
Captain America: Channing Tatum
Early in the development of Captain America: The First Avenger, Channing Tatum was considered for the titular role. If he’d landed the part, then he might not have been able to make 21 Jump Street for its 2012 release date.
Tatum has yet to play a superhero on the big screen, but he has been cast to play Gambit in an X-Men spin-off that’s been stuck in Marvel development hell for years.
Iron Man: Tom Cruise
Apparently, reports of how close Tom Cruise came to playing Tony Stark have been exaggerated. He’s rumored to have been next to Robert Downey, Jr. on the shortlist. There’s even a deepfake video out there that adds Cruise into all of Stark’s most iconic moments from the MCU.
Cruise was under consideration for an earlier version of the project before it was attached to the MCU. By the time Paramount secured the rights, however, Cruise had moved on to other franchises.
Captain America: John Krasinski
Marvel’s first choice for the role of Captain America was John Krasinski, who was then still starring as Jim Halpert in NBC’s The Office. The actor even screen-tested in the costume. However, after seeing the hulking physique of Chris Hemsworth, Krasinski decided he wouldn’t be the right choice to play Steve Rogers.
Currently, Krasinski has made a name for himself as a horror filmmaker with A Quiet Place and he’s a popular fan casting for the role of Reed Richards in the MCU’s upcoming Fantastic Four reboot.