Actors who refused huge Marvel roles

Landing a role in a Marvel movie means potential stardom for up-and-coming actors, renewed popularity for aging vets, and a fat paycheck for anyone willing to don a cool metal suit. But despite Marvel's impact on the modern movie business, not every actor is keen to put on a mask and do battle with alien armies. In fact, when Marvel went after the celebrities on this list, they all said no thanks.

Let's start with Russell Crowe, who turned down the opportunity to play Wolverine in the original X-Men. In an Access Hollywood interview, Crowe explained, "I'd just done a character whose animal totem was a wolf, which was that fellow Max in Gladiator. So I didn't want to be connected with a wolf again." Crowe further clarified his reasoning, explaining X-Men was "a cartoon, and I'm not really into those." Luckily for superhero fans everywhere, he did recommend Bryan Singer go with Hugh Jackman, who'd previously auditioned for the part. Here's a little Photoshop magic to help you imagine how Crowe might have looked if fate had taken a different turn.

The eight-year stretch between X-Men and Iron Man was an interesting period in Marvel history. While some of their films were praised by critics—such as X2: X-Men United and Spider-Man 2, which Roger Ebert called the best superhero film since 1978's Superman—there were also misfires like Hulk, Elektra, and most infamously, 2003's Daredevil. While the Ben Affleck flick did well financially, critics tore it apart. When asked about the film in 2016, Affleck responded, "I hate Daredevil so much."

However, Affleck could've been spared all that embarrassment if his best friend had accepted the role first. As it turns out, Matt Damon was offered the part of Daredevil, and it was a pretty tempting deal. Both Damon and Affleck were Daredevil fans as kids, with Damon describing Matt Murdock as "our favorite superhero." But when the movie star was approached with the project, he wasn't impressed with the script or familiar enough with the director (Mark Steven Johnson).

"I just tried to divorce my emotion from [it]," Damon explained, but Affleck was "more of an emotional guy" and couldn't say no. Of course, Affleck has come to regret that decision, but Daredevil's failure inspired him to get his next superhero movie "right." That's why he took on the role of the Caped Crusader in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. And while the film was lambasted by critics, Affleck's performance received a fair amount of praise. Hopefully, his upcoming solo Batman film will put his Daredevil days to rest.

As for Damon, he confessed he'd be willing to don Matt Murdock's glasses if Christopher Nolan directed the film. Of course, Nolan is pretty intertwined with the DC Universe, so chances are slim Damon will ever defend Hell's Kitchen, especially since Charlie Cox is already doing such a great job on Netflix's Daredevil series.

For 30 years, Giancarlo Esposito was the most underrated actor in show business. The man gave stellar performances in Do the Right Thing and Fresh. He appeared in brief but memorable roles in The Usual Suspects and Malcolm X. And he worked on pretty much every TV show, from Law & Order to Sesame Street. But Esposito's big breakout came in Breaking Bad, where he terrified audiences as the coldest, most calculating kingpin on the planet: Gustavo Fring.

Since facing off with Walter White, Esposito has dabbled a little bit in the superhero genre, providing voicework in DC films like Son of Batman. But in 2016, the actor made it crystal (meth) clear that he wanted a piece of the Marvel pie. "I love those guys at Marvel," Esposito told Comicbook.com. "We've been trying to figure out how to collaborate on something." And this lovefest goes both ways, as Esposito was offered a role in an unknown TV show.

Blair Marnell of The Nerdist theorizes Esposito was offered the role of Dominic Fortune in the ABC program, Marvel's Most Wanted. (The show never made it to air.) But really, nobody knows for sure what Esposito was offered. It could've been a part in Daredevil or Luke Cage, but Esposito didn't care. As he explained, "They came to me with something for their television department, then I realized if I did that, I'd never be able to have that same character be in the film department."

It seems like Esposito would rather hang out with Tony Stark and Steve Rogers than Matt Murdock and Jessica Jones. After all, that's where the big bucks are. Plus, who wouldn't want to pal around with (or do battle with) the Avengers?

When Deadpool hit theaters in early 2016, moviegoers went wild for the film's raunchy humor and bloody shootouts. The movie quickly earned over $780 million, making it the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, and it garnered an impressive 84% on Rotten Tomatoes.

X-Men: Apocalypse, on the other hand, wasn't so successful. This PG-13 superhero team-up earned approximately $540 million and was savaged by the critics, limping away from theaters with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 48%. Granted, X-Men: Apocalypse took a shellacking, but none of these statistics really mattered to Olivia Munn.

You see, before signing up to play Psylocke in Bryan Singer's film, Munn was first offered the role of Vanessa Carlysle, Deadpool's "scrappy" girlfriend. But when approached with the opportunity to act alongside Ryan Reynolds, Munn turned the part down in favor of playing the spandex-clad mutant. When asked why, Munn said she wasn't interested in playing the protagonist's girlfriend. She didn't want to be "the eye candy." Instead, she wanted to be a character with "powerful abilities" and extreme fighting skills. In short, she wanted to kill the hero, not kiss him.

When Munn teamed up with Oscar Isaac and Michael Fassbender, the role of Carlysle went to Morena Baccarin. Unlike Munn, she claimed the character was far more than a "damsel in distress," and several critics agreed with her assessment. But others sided with the Apocalypse actress, describing Vanessa as someone who was "less like a character in the movie and more like a symbol." So while X-Men failed while Deadpool succeeded, hopefully Munn was able to take a little pride in her cinematic stand.

Directed by the inimitable Shane Black, Iron Man 3 was the second highest-grossing domestic movie of 2013. On top of that, it's currently the tenth highest-grossing film of all time (not adjusting for inflation). It's not undeserved: Iron Man 3 has a lot to offer moviegoers, including witty dialogue, a brilliant plot twist, and one of the greatest stunts in Marvel movie history. The only thing it really lacked was Jessica Chastain.

Coming off hits like The Help and Zero Dark Thirty, Chastain was working at a pretty voracious rate and earning approval from fans around the world. So it was only natural that Marvel would reach out to the actress and ask if she wanted a part in their upcoming Iron Man movie. The studio wanted Chastain to play the part of Maya Hansen, a scientist who may or may not be on Tony Stark's side. Unfortunately, Chastain had to pass on the role because she was just too busy. "I know many of you want me to be involved," she wrote on Facebook, "and I'm sorry to disappoint you. Hopefully there'll be another Marvel film in my future."

Of course, it isn't like Chastain's decision hurt her career. The actress has since starred in high-profile films like Interstellar, The Martian, and Crimson Peak. And truthfully, if Chastain had taken the part, she probably wouldn't have been pleased with the actual character. You see, after Chastain turned down the role, it went to Rebecca Hall. The actress was no doubt excited because, originally, Maya Hansen was supposed to be the ultimate villain of the film. Unfortunately, someone up the chain of command ordered Shane Black to make the bad guy a dude…because female action figures supposedly don't sell that well.

Today, everyone knows Emily Blunt is completely comfortable in the action genre. She battled extraterrestrials in Edge of Tomorrow, took on the cartels in Sicario, and worked her magic in The Huntsman: Winter's War. But Marvel realized Blunt's action star potential long before the rest of us. As Kevin Feige and Jon Favreau prepared to shoot Iron Man 2, they offered the English actress one of the biggest roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a. Black Widow.

Unfortunately for Blunt, the timing just didn't work out. She was busy with the Jack Black comedy Gulliver's Travels and had to pass on playing the Russian super spy. However, Marvel really wanted Blunt to join the MCU, and when it came time to film Captain America: The First Avenger, studio executives asked if she'd be interested in playing Steve Rogers's capable love interest, Peggy Carter. Once again, the timing was off, and since Blunt was busy with other projects, the part went to Hayley Atwell.

In a 2012 interview with Vulture, Blunt was asked if she would ever consider doing another superhero movie. The actress explained, "I'm open to any kind of genre if the part is great and fun and different and a challenge in some way." However, she expressed dismay with many of the female roles in blockbuster movies, saying "Usually, the female parts in a superhero film feel thankless: She's the pill girlfriend while the guys are whizzing around saving the world." Let's keep our fingers crossed that Marvel executives get their timing right and give Blunt a superpowered role someday.