MCU: 5 Actors Considered To Play Doctor Strange (& 5 For Captain Marvel)

While the MCU’s Infinity Saga told the story of the six original Avengers, the new saga beginning with Phase Four will focus on the next generation of Earth’s mightiest heroes, led by Doctor Strange trying to keep the ever-expanding multiverse under as much control as possible and Captain Marvel bringing peace to the farthest reaches of outer space.

In the characters’ Phase Three introductions, Benedict Cumberbatch and Brie Larson quickly made icons out of Stephen Strange and Carol Danvers, respectively, but while they turned out to be the perfect choices for their roles, they weren’t Marvel’s only choices to play them.

10 Doctor Strange: Joaquin Phoenix

Benedict Cumberbatch was always the producers’ first choice for the role of Stephen Strange, but he turned down their initial offer, so they had to cast a wider net in the search for the perfect Sorcerer Supreme. One of the actors approached about the role in this interim was Joaquin Phoenix.

Phoenix had previously been approached about playing the Hulk in The Avengers and he turned down the role of Strange for the same reason he turned Marvel down back then: he was reluctant to sign a multi-movie contract. He ended up starring in DC’s Joker as a distinctly standalone effort.

9 Captain Marvel: Natalie Dormer

Renowned for playing Margaery Tyrell in HBO’s Game of Thrones and Cressida in the final two installments in The Hunger Games movie franchise, Natalie Dormer was initially under consideration for the role of Carol Danvers.

This might’ve created a continuity problem for the MCU, since Dormer previously played the minor role of Private Lorraine in Captain America: The First Avenger, but fans wouldn’t have minded too much if she was right for the part.

8 Doctor Strange: Jared Leto

One of the many actors that Marvel considered for the role of Stephen Strange was Jared Leto, who’s recently become a movie star with roles in Dallas Buyers Club and Blade Runner 2049 in addition to his musical work with Thirty Seconds to Mars.

Leto ended up playing a bastardized hipster version of the Joker in Suicide Squad in the same summer that Doctor Strange was released (to more critical acclaim) and he’ll play the vampiric Marvel supervillain Morbius in an upcoming Sony-mounted spin-off.

7 Captain Marvel: Rebecca Ferguson

Not to be confused with the British singer of the same name, Rebecca Ferguson is a Swedish actor who’s become a prominent figure in Hollywood since taking on the recurring role of MI6 agent Ilsa Faust in the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Ferguson was considered for the title role in Captain Marvel, but didn’t clinch it. Instead, she’ll be co-starring with Timothee Chalamet in Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Dune and continuing to play her role in the M:I movies.

6 Doctor Strange: Jake Gyllenhaal

The producers of Doctor Strange considered Jake Gyllenhaal for the title role. He didn’t land the part, but he did go on to play the villainous Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Tom Hardy was also under consideration to play Strange and he went on to portray a different Marvel character, Venom, in Sony’s 2018 spin-off and its upcoming sequel.

5 Captain Marvel: Katee Sackhoff

The producers of Captain Marvel considered Katee Sackhoff for the role of Carol Danvers, but ended up giving it to Brie Larson instead. Sackhoff is well-versed in hard science fiction and dealing with an ardent fan base.

She played Starbuck in the revival of Battlestar Galactica, Bo-Katan Kryze in several Star Wars-related TV series, and Blacksmith in The CW’s The Flash.

4 Doctor Strange: Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe met with Marvel Studios to discuss the possibility of playing Stephen Strange. Radcliffe, of course, is no stranger to committing to many movies in the role of a wizard.

Ewan McGregor also met with the studio and he, too, is familiar with playing wizards in multiple movies, as Jedi are a kind of wizard and McGregor played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels.

3 Captain Marvel: Yvonne Strahovski

One of the actors considered to play Carol Danvers before Brie Larson was cast was Yvonne Strahovski, who still has yet to land a leading role in a blockbuster franchise.

Due to her work in television, playing major roles in Dexter, Chuck, The Handmaid’s Tale (for which she’s been nominated for an Emmy), and 24: Live Another Day, Strahovski probably wouldn’t have had much difficulty fitting into the long-term commitments required by the MCU.

2 Doctor Strange: Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Joseph Gordon-Levitt was under consideration to play Stephen Strange, having previously been on the shortlist to play Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy.

A ton of actors were considered to play Strange before the producers’ first choice finally agreed to do it, including Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, Ryan Gosling, Jon Hamm, Ethan Hawke, Jack Huston, Oscar Isaac, Matthew McConaughey, Ewan McGregor, Keanu Reeves, and Justin Theroux.

1 Captain Marvel: Emily Blunt

Prior to Brie Larson’s casting, Emily Blunt was considered for the role of Carol Danvers. She had previously been offered the roles of Natasha Romanoff in Iron Man 2 and Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger but turned them down in both instances.

More than a decade after she was offered her first Marvel role, Blunt still hasn’t joined the MCU, but she’s a popular fan casting for Susan Storm alongside her husband John Krasinski for Reed Richards.

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Ben Sherlock
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Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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