It’s hard to imagine anyone else portraying The Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but today, we’re going to explore some of the other actors who were actually in the running for the roles. We’re also going to take a look at many other near-castings of some of the MCU superheroes who helped them take on Thanos in the Avengers movies as well, just to get an idea of how drastically different Endgame could have been.
1Timothy Olyphant as Iron Man
The role of Tony Stark – otherwise known as Iron Man – has made Robert Downey Jr. one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood. He was the one to introduce the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know them, which first began with the 2008 movie Iron Man. After spending over a full decade as Iron Man, Downey has made it clear now more than ever he was absolutely perfect for the part.
However, Santa Clarita Diet and Deadwood star Timothy Olyphant had a shot at landing the role if Downey wasn’t in the running. In an 2015 interview on Conan, Olyphant revealed to host Conan O’Brien he had auditioned for Tony Stark in the original Iron Man movie. “Robert Downey Jr. and I, we screen tested on the same day, and I’m still waiting to hear back,” Olyphant says of the experience.
2John Krasinski as Captain America
For many years, it was hard to separate John Krasinski from his long-running role as office prankster Jim Halpert on The Office. However, he has shown he is so much more with the vastly different roles he has taken on since then. This includes a starring role in the hit horror film A Quiet Place, which Krasinski also directed.
Many actors auditioned for the titular role in 2011’s Captain America: The Last Avenger, including Dane Cook, Ryan Phillipe, and Garrett Hedlund. Additionally, during the middle of his time on The Office, Krasinski was in the running at one point as well. Of course, Chris Evans was who took to the shield most naturally, securing him the iconic role of Captain America.
3Emily Blunt as Black Widow
John Krasinski isn’t the only star from A Quiet Place to nearly portray an Avenger. In fact, he’s not even the only person in his own family with that distinction. Krasinski’s wife Emily Blunt came very close to playing Black Widow when the character debuted in Iron Man 2, but was forced to turn it down because of a scheduling conflict. With Blunt out, the role later went to Scarlett Johansson, and the rest, as they say, is history.
However, Krasinski and Blunt are both grateful that their time not spent in the MCU allowed for them to pursue their own passion projects. “I think A Quiet Place definitely wouldn’t exist,” Krasinski said in a 2018 interview. Blunt adds: “I don’t think I would have been able to do a lot of projects that I’ve loved doing.”
4Liam Hemsworth as Thor
On the subject of family members missing out on Avengers roles, we can add Liam Hemsworth to the list. When his brother Chris Hemsworth was initially passed over after his audition, Liam then tested for the lead role in 2011’s Thor. Soon after, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige reconsidered his stance on Chris, ultimately casting him in the part rather than Liam.
It’s easier than other entries on this list to picture Liam in the role of Thor. Perhaps that’s because he looks almost identical to his brother, meaning Thor would still look very similar at the least. Liam would go on to star in a prominent role in the Hunger Games movies instead.
5David Duchovny as The Incredible Hulk
We all know David Duchovny best as Agent Fox Mulder from The X-Files, but it turns out there are many other iconic roles he nearly procured. For example, he revealed to Jimmy Kimmel last year he had even auditioned for all three lead roles on Full House, meaning he could have been our Danny Tanner. It gets even more bizarre than that, because as it turns out, Duchovny came close to portraying the Incredible Hulk as well.
In 2006, Marvel CEO Pete Suneo said Duchovny was a front-runner to play Bruce Banner in their next planned Hulk film. Ultimately, the role was given to Edward Norton soon after for what would become the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk. Norton was then replaced by Mark Ruffalo for the Avengers movies, and this was reportedly because he was difficult to work with behind the scenes. If Marvel didn’t have these same issues with Duchovny, he likely would have reprised the role as the Hulk in the Avengers films as well, had he gotten the part in the 2008 film.
6Jensen Ackles as Hawkeye
First appearing in an uncredited cameo in Thor before before taking on a much bigger role in The Avengers, Hawkeye is portrayed in the MCU by Jeremy Renner. After the events of Endgame, Hawkeye’s story will continue in an upcoming TV series for the Disney+ streaming service. Renner has done a fine job in the part, but he wasn’t Marvel’s first choice when it came to casting Hawkeye.
Fans of Supernatural might be entertained to know Jensen Ackles was offered the role prior to Renner’s casting. This came after he was passed over for Captain America in the first Captain America movie, as Marvel still saw potential in using the popular actor. Because Supernatural was still going strong, however, Ackles turned down the role to prioritize the hit fantasy series.
7Jared Leto as Dr. Strange
Benedict Cumberbatch was always a front-runner for Dr. Strange – and rightfully so. Still, Marvel considered other options as well before Cumberbatch had officially signed on. In 2016, it was reported that the short list of other candidates also included Jared Leto. Had negotiations fallen through with Cumberbatch, there’s a chance Leto would have been our Dr. Strange instead.
Of course, Leto managed to score the role of another popular comic book character. He portrayed a version of the Joker in the 2016 movie The Suicide Squad for DC. Leto has since finally managed to nab a Marvel comic character role as well, as he’ll play Morbius, the Living Vampire in an upcoming film due out next year.
8Asa Butterfield as Spider-Man
Spider-Man has seen multiple film franchises since the start of the new millennium. We began with Tobey Maguire as Spidey in the 2002 film from Sam Raimi, with Andrew Garfield taking over for the 2012 reboot The Amazing Spider-Man. The franchise would be rebooted again just in time to include the new Spider-Man in the MCU with the role now going to Tom Holland.
When the character was cast for his first MCU appearance in Captain America: Civil War, multiple actors besides Holland were considered. Among them was Asa Butterfield, a young actor who played the lead role in the Ender’s Game film adaptation. More recently, he has starred in the Netflix series Sex Education and the horror-comedy film Slaughterhouse Rulez with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
9Jim Sturgess as Star-Lord
James Gunn wanted to make sure he had the perfect Star-Lord when casting his Guardians of the Galaxy movie, testing a variety of actors for the part. As we all know, Chris Pratt was the one to get the nod in the end, forever changing his career. But the Peter Quill we know could have been very different if Pratt hadn’t put his name in the mix.
In 2012, Cloud Atlas actor Jim Sturgess was reportedly on the shortlist for the role of Star-Lord, along with Shazam star Zachary Levi. While both lost out to Pratt, Levi still became a part of the MCU by appearing in the Thor movies as Fendral. Meanwhile, Sturgess has yet to be involved in any superhero movie, and can most recently be seen in the romance movie Berlin, I Love You.
10Jason Momoa as Drax the Destroyer
From playing Khal Drogo from Game of Thrones to his portraying Aquaman in the DCEU, everyone is familiar with Jason Momoa. However, not everyone knows he was nearly cast as Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy. While he was ultimately passed over, Momoa was reportedly one of the front-runners for Drax, but he just wasn’t meant to be one of the galaxy’s guardians.
Former WWE Superstar Dave “Batista” Bautista was given the role instead, and it has been a total gamechanger for his acting career. Bautista has since become a major player in Hollywood, thanks in part to his run as Drax the Destroyer. Given how well Aquaman did at the box office, however, it appears things also worked out pretty well for Momoa.
11Natalie Dormer as Captain Marvel
Released in 2019, Captain Marvel introduces Brie Larson in the titular role, leading to her appearance in Avengers: Endgame. The film became one of the most successful movies ever, scoring over a billion dollars in worldwide ticket sales. Before Larson landed the big money role, however, Game of Thrones and Hunger Games actress Natalie Dormer was rumored to be in the running, but that apparently wasn’t what Marvel had in the cards.
The biggest problem with casting Dormer is that it would create a continuity error. Dormer had already played a character in the MCU, previously appearing as Private Lorraine in Captain America: The First Avenger. Still, it didn’t stop the internet from casting her as Captain Marvel before Larson officially got the part.
12Wesley Snipes as Black Panther
Unfortunately, by the time Black Panther was finally able to make some traction, Snipes found himself in legal trouble. His incarceration from 2010 through 2013 ended his involvement with the project, leading to Marvel producing the film without him. Chadwick Boseman was later announced for the role.
13Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Ant-Man

Paul Rudd is a perfect Hank Pym, and the Ant-Man movies are truly a treat because of him. As you can surmise, however, he wasn’t the only name in contention for the part. In 2013, Halloween H20 star Joseph Gordon-Levitt was reportedly at the top of the list along with Rudd to play Ant-Man. Gordon-Levitt is certainly a good actor, but it’s easy to see why Rudd was ultimately cast.
For what it’s worth, Gordon-Levitt played a role in the 2012 flick The Dark Knight Rises that was revealed in the end to be the new Robin. Still, he has yet to make an appearance in the MCU.
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