Marvel movies are big business. From the Avengers franchise and all the interconnected heroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, on screens both big and small, to the ever-expanding world of the X-Men and Deadpool, Marvel is the biggest name in cinema currently. Not to mention the Sony-steered Spider-Man movies, going all the way back to Sam Raimi's original trilogy. It seems like the franchise is ever-expanding and the perfect opportunity for any actor to boost their career, but that doesn't mean every big-name actor and A-list talent in Hollywood wants to be associated with these characters. Some heavyweight actors have straight-up said no way when Marvel came knocking.

Updated August 15, 2023: This article has been updated to include new and fresh content for your enjoyment.

It is hard to believe anyone would say no to a Marvel movie, but many have. A lot of rumors have swirled about casting Fantastic Four in the MCU. Names like Adam Driver, Margot Robbie, Matt Smith, and Vanessa Kirby have all been swirling around with every new rumor making fans think an actor turned it down. While it is unclear if actors are turning the film down, if they were ever actually approached, or if Marvel instead turned them down after realizing they weren't right for the part, we will never know until someone gives an interview confirming they turned the project down. Yet it does make for an interesting discussion about which actors were offered big Marvel projects and turned them down. This is different than actors like Tom Cruise, who was at one point attached to be Iron Man, but instead, actors who flat out said no upfront.

12 Leonardo DiCaprio

Leonardo Dicaprio from Shutter Island

Paramount Pictures

At this point, we've seen no less than three actors on the big screen as Peter Parker. About a decade before Sam Raimi got the wall-crawler off the ground with his 2002 film, James Cameron was set on making a Spider-Man film with Carolco Pictures, the independent production company responsible for a slew of movies in the 80s and 90s, like Rambo, Showgirls, Universal Soldier, and Cameron's own Terminator 2: Judgment Day. But Carolco rather famously went bust in 1995, with Cameron moving forward with Titanic instead.

Sony Pictures was all about Cameron's Spider-Man script, though, and were eager to get his Titanic star into the tights. Alas, just as Leonardo DiCaprio once turned down playing Robin in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever, he passed on Peter Parker. Looking back on it now, it was probably for the best that the franchise worked out the way it did, but it is hard to deny the idea of Leonardo DiCaprio as Spider-Man is an exciting one.

11 Quinton Jackson

quinton-jackson-a-team
20th Century Studios

Quinton Jackson was originally a trained fighter, but he started to dabble in acting when the Fox X-Men movies were being released Jackson was going to play the part of a mutant in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Jackson was approached to play the role of teleporter John Wraith. However, like what happened with many actors, his schedule did not allow for it, and the role went to Black Eyed Peas artist will.i.am.

Related: 25 MCU Actors' Best Performances Before Marvel

It's hard to say if Jackson would have been better off choosing to participate in the X-Men franchise, but maybe X-Men Origins: Wolverine wouldn't have been the best opportunity for him as an actor, regardless.

10 Russell Crowe

Noah Super Bowl TV Spot Starring Russell Crowe (1)-1
Paramount

In 2000, Russell Crowe was on top of the world thanks to his performance in the movie Gladiator. Yet his entire career, and that of another Australian actor could have been altered. X-Men opened the same summer as Gladiator, and director Bryan Singer wanted Crowe to play Wolverine. Crowe passed on the project but did suggest his fellow Australian Hugh Jackman.

Singer and Fox drafted Dougray Scott instead. After multiple production issues, including a shoulder injury, caused delays on the set of Mission: Impossible 2, Fox held out for Scott as long as possible, even getting as much as a month into shooting while waiting for him to get free of his commitment to Cruise and Paramount. Scott had to go. Hugh Jackman was getting fitted for his claws and leather costume less than a week after finalizing his deal. The rest, as they say, is superhero movie history. Crowe would eventually work with Marvel many years later, playing Zeus in Thor: Love and Thunder, and will now appear as Nikolai Kravinoff in Kraven the Hunter.

9 Joaquin Phoenix

joker
Warner Bros.

Russell Crowe's Gladiator co-star Joaquin Phoenix has never been in a Marvel movie, but that doesn't seem to be due to lack of opportunity. A number of names were thrown around in the trades when Marvel started casting Doctor Strange, before Benedict Cumberbatch ended the "Will he or won't he?" guessing game and slid on the Cloak of Levitation so clearly destined for him.

By many accounts, the role could've gone to Joaquin Phoenix. He just didn't want it. He didn't address the Sorcerer Supreme specifically, but he did tell Time Out London he just doesn't see his sensibilities meshing well with the big tent pole franchise universe building. "They've gotten better," he admitted. "I've flirted with several of those films, having meetings and getting close, but ultimately it never felt like they'd really be fulfilling." In fact, it is highly rumored the delay to Marvel's San Diego Comic-Con panel in 2014 was running late because they were hoping to finalize a deal with Phoenix to announce him as Doctor Strange but never materialized.

8 Rachel McAdams

About-Time-2013-Rachel-McAdams (1)
Universal Pictures

While Rachel McAdams has since joined the Marvel Universe as Dr. Christine Palmer in Doctor Strange and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, she had been pursued for many other She was approached to play Pepper Potts in Iron Man. She turned down the role, along with parts in films like Casino Royale, The Devil Wears Prada, Mission: Impossible 3, Get Smart and The Dark Knight.

7 Emily Blunt

Emily blunt in Arthur Doyle bio film

Emily Blunt has had to say no to Marvel not once but twice. The Devil Wears Prada star was the original choice for Black Widow. She would have made her debut as Black Widow in Iron Man 2, a role that would be critical to the franchise. Yet Blunt was forced to turn the movie down due to Fox reportedly had her under a contract for a film of their choosing. The studio chose Gulliver's Travels, the schedule for which prevented her from showing up in Iron Man 2. A bummer, for sure, considering how the Jack Black vehicle turned out.

She was also offered the role of Peggy Carter in The First Avenger, but it is unclear why she turned it down. Possibly after her husband, John Krasinski lost the part of Captain America. Since then, she has been a fan favorite for the role of Sue Storm, aka The Invisible Woman in Fantastic Four, but she has shown no interest in taking the role.

6 Jason Momoa

Jason Momoa as Dante in Fast X.
Universal Pictures

It is an unwritten rule that Marvel and DC are enemies, and no actor can play a part in both franchises. Jason Momoa decided to be on the DC side of things with Aquaman, but he was almost in Guardians of the Galaxy. Momoa was offered the part of Drax the Destroyer. While his physicality as an actor would have made him great for the role, Momoa turned it down in an attempt to avoid being typecast all the time. He wanted to explore other roles where he could show off his range as an actor. It all worked out in the end, as Dave Bautista has been a great Drax, and it is hard to imagine the character working with any other actor.

5 Jessica Chastain

Jessica Chastain in Miss Sloane
Relativity EuropaCorp Distribution

Jessica Chastain was certainly a star on the rise in the early 2010s. Her three roles in Tree of Life, Take Shelter, and The Help in 2011 made her a breakout star and one everyone wanted to work with, and at the time, Marvel was casting Iron Man 3. Chastain was offered the role of Maya Hansen, the role that would later be played by Rebecca Hall. Chastain turned down the role, but Marvel would later approach her about playing the Wasp in Ant-Man. She also turned that part down and instead appeared in the X-Men film Dark Phoenix.

4 Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson stars in The Professor and the Madman as James Murray.
Vertical Entertainment

Robert Downey Jr., whose own career was once slipping down the tabloid tubes, has publicly offered to return the redemption favor to troubled star Mel Gibson, going on record that he'd love to see his pal join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But the original Mad Max actually said no to Marvel already. In a 2016 interview at the Cannes Film Festival, The Guardian newspaper asked him whether he'd ever been offered a superhero movie. "Yeah, long time ago," he answered. "To play Thor's dad. But I didn't do it." Thor's dad! Yes, Odin the All-Father, could have been Mel Gibson.

Related: 10 Actors Who Almost Played Iconic Superheroes (but Ended Up Playing Supervillains Instead)

In the end, Marvel Studios cast Anthony Hopkins, and that was a better call overall. Marvel and Disney likely would not want to deal with the press headache Mel Gibson would bring, given his past controversial comments.

3 Amanda Seyfried

amanda-seyfried-mamma-mia
Universal Pictures

Amanda Seyfried is an accomplished performer known for her work in films like Mean Girls, Mamma Mia, and Jennifer's Body. She was a star, so it made sense Marvel Studios approached her for Guardians of the Galaxy, likely thinking she would lend some box office draw to their obscure Marvel title. Yet Seyfried turned the role of Gamora down, thinking the movie would be a bomb.

Zoe Saldana eventually got the part, and the rest is history. Guardians of the Galaxy went on to become a box office smash hit and launched one of the most successful franchises in the MCU.

2 Matt Damon

Matt Damon in The Bourne Ultimatum
Universal Pictures

Daredevil is another Marvel Comics property that ended up with Fox at some point during its development. Both Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are outspoken fans of the Devil of Hell's Kitchen. Affleck even wrote the introduction to a collection of their pal (and Good Will Hunting producer) Kevin Smith's "Guardian Devil" run from the comic.

Damon was initially approached to play the title hero in Fox's Daredevil film. In a 2015 interview, Damon told the New York Daily News: "For us it was always Daredevil, that's the comic we read when we were kids. But when that one came along, I chickened out, because I couldn't tell. I hadn't seen the director work and I didn't know. So I just said, 'No.' Ben was like, 'I gotta do it.' And the movie ended up doing very well, even though I don't think Ben was ultimately very proud of it."

At 44% on the Tomatometer, Mark Steven Johnson's Daredevil is mostly remembered for being bad, but as Damon rightly pointed out, it was far from a bomb. Daredevil made $179 million around the world, earned some Teen Choice and MTV Movie Awards, helped launch mega platinum hard rock band Evanescence, produced the Elektra spinoff, and paired Affleck with the future mother of his kids.

In a 2015 interview, Damon said he'd suit up as Daredevil if it were offered to him again and Christopher Nolan were directing. Of course, it seems fans are content with Charlie Cox, but maybe Damon could have a second chance in some multiverse story down the line. Much like Crowe, he did get a chance to appear in a Thor movie as he cameoed in both Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder.

1 Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey in The Lincoln Lawyer
Lionsgate

It's no surprise that someone with the stature, acting pedigree, and fan-beloved charisma of Matthew McConaughey has gotten scripts from both Marvel and DC. In October 2015, Variety reported that he'd passed on a major Marvel role. In January 2017, McConaughey told Playboy why he said no to Ego the Living Planet in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. explaining he picked the Stephen King adaptation The Dark Tower instead, as it was the first entry in a potential franchise rather than the second. "I like Guardians of the Galaxy, but what I saw was, 'It's successful, and now we've got room to make a colorful part for another big-name actor,'" he said. "I'd feel like an amendment."

That decision was certainly a bad one for McConaughey. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was one of the biggest movies of summer 2017, while The Dark Tower was one of its biggest bombs.