27 Close Calls in Casting That Would’ve Drastically Changed Your Favorite Movies

Tom Cruise as Iron Man? Naw, we’re good with RDJ, thank you
27 Close Calls in Casting That Would’ve Drastically Changed Your Favorite Movies
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Alternate timelines are fun to imagine, aren’t they? 

It’s pretty low stakes because we got what we got in this timeline, but imagining George Clooney as Nick Fury is pretty interesting too. We love Samuel L. Jackson in that role, so it’s not like we’d make that switcheroo, but hey, if time travel ever becomes a thing, we could go back and check out Clooney’s take for kicks — or anyone for that matter. Jaleel White, Ken Jeong, Seth Rogen, you name it! They were never up for that role, but this is imagination land, remember? 

Anywho, here are some casting almosts that we’ll sadly just have to keep imagining.

Captain America

Marvel Stars from t John Krasinski was almost Captain America. Jim from The Office almost ended up as Captain America before Chris Evans took the role. Rumor has it that John Krasinski has recently been cast as The Fantastic Four's Reed Richards instead. CRACKED.COM

Iron Man

Marvel Stars from the Mult Tom Cruise was almost Iron Man. Despite Robert Downey Junior being the key to making the entire MCU, Cruise was almost Iron Man instead. Rumors say he will appear in an upcoming film as Iron Man, in reference to this fact. CRACKED.COM

Doctor Strange

Marvel Stars from th sse Joaquin Phoenix turned down Doctor Strange. Though Benedict Cumberbatch was an early choice, Marvel still talked to Phoenix-who said no, and then made Joker as if to spite them for even asking. CRACKED.COM

The Avengers

Marvel Stars from Marvel wanted George Clooney as Nick Fury. It was only after Clooney turned down the role that it went to the right choice - Samuel L. Jackson. CRACKED.COM

V for Vendetta

CRACKED.COM That's not always Hugo weaving behind V's mask. A few scenes of V for Vendetta feature James Purefoy, a.k.a. Mark Antony from Rome. At the time, it was reported that he walked away because he hated wearing the mask. Не later claimed that he disagreed about how the character should be played.

Mortal Kombat

CRACKED.COM An injury prevented cameron Diaz from being sonya Blade. Diaz started martial arts training for Mortal Kombat as soon as she finished filming The Mask. Alas, testing her might broke her wrist before shooting started. Bridgette Wilson took her place, and we never got to see Princess Fiona kicking Outworld ass.

Michael J. Fox

CRACKED.COM Marty MCFly just wasn't funny. Back to the Future started production with Eric Stoltz as Marty. But Stoltz' comedic energy was just not there. Michael Fox replaced him after five weeks, and the whole movie was shot again from scratch.

Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now CAPTAIN WILLARD CRACKED.COM Francis Ford Coppola somewhat reluctantly cast Harvey Keitel, but after a week of filming, said he found it difficult to play him as a passive onlooker. Coppola was then finally able to reel in his first choice, Martin Sheen.

Batman Returns

Batman Returns BE CATWOMAN CRACKED.COM Tim Burton originally tapped Annette Bening for the role, but she had to drop the highly physical role when she found out she was pregnant. Michelle Pfeiffer stepped into the iconic role.

Knocked Up

Knocked Up ALISON CRACKED COM Anne Hathaway backed out when she found out that footage of a real birth would be used for the big birthing scene. Katherine Heigl took on the role (although she was also pretty publicly dissatisfied with it).

The Wizard of Oz

The Wizard of Oz TIN MAN CRACKED COM Ray Bolger was cast as the Tin Man, but convinced the studio to let him swap with Buddy Ebsen and play the Scarecrow. Ebsen was hospitalized because his makeup was made of corrosive aluminum powder. Jack Haley ultimately made it all the way through production.

Predator

Predator BE THE PREDATOR CRACKED.COM Jean-Claude Van Damme was tapped to play a much sh*ier version of Arnold's alien nemesis. Once on set, he couldn't stand how much costuming and prosthetics were involved, so he left it to Kevin Peter Hall to finish the job.

Alien

CRACKED.COM John Hurt was a late addition to the crew of the Nostromo. British thespian Jon Finch played Kane for a short time while shooting Alien. Then he got suddenly ill (due to his diabetes, not to any chestburster), and Hurt was brought onboard to birth the creature.

Beverly Hills Cop

CRACKED.COM sylvester stallone blew his own chances to play Axel Foley. 67 BEVE HIL Stallone was the first choice to star in Beverly Hills Cop. Не accepted-and immediately rewrote the script to make it less comedic and more action- oriented. Nope, said the folks in charge, and called Eddie Murphy instead.

X-Men

CRACKED.COM Dougray scott was too late to play wolverine. You may remember Scott as the bad guy in Mission: Impossible 2. Не remembers that as well, as delays with that shoot made him miss his appointment with X-Men. Hugh Jackman was cast as a replacement and fitted for his claws in record time.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus BE TONY CRACKED COM Heath Ledger passed away one month into production, so Terry Gilliam chose to have the character transform into different handsome celebrities throughout the film: Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law.

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings BE ARAGORN CRACKED.COM Peter Jackson decided, four days into filming and after several months of training, that Stuart Townsend was too young for the role. Не eventualy landed on Viggo Mortensen (after considering Russell Crowe and Daniel Day-Lewis).

Aliens

CRACKED.COM corporal Hicks was replaced because of drugs. Hicks is the only Marine left alive when Aliens ends, but his original actor didn't make it to the end of shooting. James Remar was fired over a drug arrest. Michael Biehn was flown in overnight, and was the only actor who didn't get to customize his military gear.

Panic Room

Panic Room MEG ALTMAN CRACKED.COM Nicole Kidman pushed herself to the very limits of her Moulin Rouge injuries, but had to be replaced by Jodie Foster 18 days into production.

Her

Her В SAMANTHA I DI VAL s N CO CRACKED.COM Spike Jonze realized in post-production that having Samantha Morton perform her lines completely isolated from Joaquin Phoenix created exactly о chemistry. So he had Scarlett Johansson come in and re-record the lines for four months.

The Departed

The Departed BE CAPTAIN QUEENAN CRACKED.COM Gerard McSorley spent weeks working with Boston police officers, when Martin Scorsese decided to haul in Martin Sheen to replace him after filming had already begun.

There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Blood BE ELI SUNDAY CRACKED.COM Kel O'Neill was supposed to play Eli Sunday while Paul Dano played Paul Sunday. O'Neil was reportedly intimidated to work with Daniel Day-Lewis, so two weeks into filming, Dano was asked to play both brothers.

Shrek

Shrek В SHREK CRACKED COM The whole movie was built around Chris Farley, who recorded an estimated 90% of his dialogue before suddenly passing away. They had to start all over with Mike Meyers, who recorded 100% of his lines before having an epiphany that he should re-record them in a Scottish accent.

The Matrix

SANDRA BULLOCK TURNED DOWN THE ROLE OF NEO. CRACKED.COM DE I I RHOM SEV SBY 10AX The producers of The Matrix approached a number of actors in their long search to find Neo. One of them was Bullock, and they were willing to change Neo into a woman if she accepted. Bullock wasn't interested, deciding that starring in Forces of Nature, a now-forgotten romcom, was a better career choice.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

MARILYN MONROE COULD HAVE STARRED IN CRACKED.COM BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S. Truman Capote's novel had a more tragic tone than the Paramount production, and the author always pictured the character of Holly as a blonde. However, producers chose to put a more positive, innocent spin on the role, and chose Audrey Hepburn. And just like that, the world missed out on a breathy, sultry rendition of Moon River.

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