Five Actors Who Nearly Landed Roles in the Spider-Man Franchise

Across the expansive catalog of live-action “Spider-Man” films, numerous high-profile actors have been approached for key roles that never materialized. These seemingly perfect matches between Hollywood icons and the beloved comic book character often didn’t pan out. The reasons for these missed opportunities vary widely. Some actors lost out due to other performers being a better fit, some were attached to projects that stalled in pre-production, and others were linked to roles later removed from the films.

Considering the complexity and scale of these “Spider-Man” productions, it’s no wonder that these five actors were close, but ultimately not part of the movies. Fortunately, each film managed to assemble a stellar cast, ensuring the Spider-Man saga remains as star-studded as ever.

One lesser-known fact about Tobey Maguire’s portrayal of Spider-Man is that it almost ended with just one film. Despite the phenomenal success of 2002’s “Spider-Man,” Sony initially dropped Maguire when he assumed the sequel’s schedule would be adjusted to accommodate back injuries he suffered while filming “Seabiscuit.” Reports at the time suggested Jake Gyllenhaal was being considered for the role before Maguire mended fences with the studio, demonstrating his commitment to continue as the web-slinging hero. Ultimately, Maguire reclaimed his place as Spider-Man, back troubles notwithstanding.

One of the things you probably don’t know about Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man is that it was nearly a one-and-done performance. Despite the immense success of 2002’s “Spider-Man,” Sony immediately dropped the film’s star when Maguire assumed that “Spider-Man 2’s” production timeline would be skewed to fit back injuries he’d sustained on “Seabiscuit.” Initial reports indicated that Jake Gyllenhaal was originally cast in the role before Maguire moved heaven and earth to repair his relationship with the studio, proving he was still game for the part. Eventually, Maguire regained the Spidey role despite those pesky back problems.

Gyllenhaal would later clarify that he didn’t quite get as far as actually signing onto the role. Instead, he was one among a crop of actors eyeballed to succeed Maguire in the Spider-Man outfit. Still, Gyllenhaal would’ve made sense at that point in time, given both his burgeoning star power and his youthful, endearingly nerdy look in the early 2000s. With “Spider-Man 2” no longer on his radar, Gyllenhaal signed on to star in another summer 2004 blockbuster, “The Day After Tomorrow.”

To boot, having no obligations to the “Spider-Man” franchise opened up his schedule to do dramas like “Brokeback Mountain.” In a serendipitous twist, he’d eventually make his way back to the “Spider-Man” saga playing the villainous Mysterio in 2019’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” He finally made it into these features — just 15 years later than initially expected.

Sam Raimi had a tormented time making “Spider-Man 3.” The whole project just got away from him, including those who were supposed to be the film’s initial villains. Thomas Haden Church, who played the film’s version of Sandman, has openly talked about how, when he first joined the movie, Venom wasn’t part of it at all. Instead, the Vulture would’ve had a supporting role in the story. This approach got far enough along in production for the team to meet with an esteemed performer for the part: Ben Kingsley, then famous for motion pictures like “Gandhi” and “Schindler’s List.”

Producer Grant Curtis recalled that Kingsley was enthusiastic about taking on the role, an exciting sign that this actor was fully committed to realizing one of Spider-Man’s greatest enemies. However, once “Spider-Man 3” producer Avi Arad insisted that Venom be a prominent character in this blockbuster, that was all she wrote for Kingsley’s Vulture. The character was packed away and would have to wait until 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” to make his live-action film debut.

As for Kingsley, he would bring that pronounced vigor to another Marvel Comics character just a few years after “Spider-Man 3.” That would be “Iron Man 3’s” Trevor Slattery, who initially posed as the Mandarin. Kingsley clearly became enamored with this comical figure, right down to the hilarious way he agreed to reprise the role in “Shang-Chi.” Unlike “Spider-Man 3,” projects like “Wonder Man” got to reap Kingsley’s enormous talents.

Casting for Sam Raimi’s eventually abandoned “Spider-Man 4” was taking place in 2009. At this point, Anne Hathaway had fully solidified herself as a bankable leading lady with projects like “The Devil Wears Prada” and “Get Smart.” She even scored her first Oscar nomination for her outstanding work in “Rachel Getting Married.” As her career was going up, taking on a prominent role in the sequel to the biggest movie of 2007 domestically seemed like a logical maneuver. It was Hathaway’s world, and we were all just living in it.

Hathaway would’ve been playing Black Cat in this production, though she didn’t get very far with the part. In fact, Hathaway has openly talked about how she never even saw concept art for her character’s costume, let alone begin testing any garb for Black Cat. “Spider-Man 4” was canned at the start of 2010, which ensured Hathaway would not be playing this comic book character after all. Hathaway has looked back on this development as a blessing in disguise, given that not tackling this character opened the door for her playing Catwoman in 2012’s “The Dark Knight Rises.”

Given how momentously important Hathaway considers “Dark Knight Rises” director Christopher Nolan to her career, it’s for the best that her comic book movie debut wasn’t in “Spider-Man 4.” Black Cat, meanwhile, still hasn’t properly appeared in a movie beyond an “Amazing Spider-Man 2” cameo, where she was played by Felicity Jones.

Long before Brady Corbet’s dark vision of the modern American epic, “The Brutalist,” hit theaters, Corbet was another young actor making it day-by-day in Hollywood. Before he transitioned full-time into directing, Corbet wasn’t the most high-profile actor. Instead, he largely took on arthouse roles in titles like “Melancholia,” “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” and “Funny Games.” However, he nearly had a brush with mainstream blockbuster fame thanks to “The Amazing Spider-Man 2.” When this project was first getting off the ground, Corbet was one of the names bandied about as a contender for Harry Osborn.

The notion of a scarred Corbet riding around on a Goblin Glider, dangling Gwen Stacy from the top of a clock tower, is a surreal one. This actor was so immersed in grounded, artsy works that “Amazing Spider-Man 2” would’ve been quite the departure. However, Corbet was apparently eyeballed by Sony as someone who could realize Harry Osborn as an innately intense guy. Given that Corbet is, as The Guardian described him in 2019, “not […] another Sundance brat,” it’s pretty doubtful that the “hardcore, highbrow Europhile” would have pursued the role intensely.

Similarly, it’s hard to imagine Corbet being distraught over losing the role to Dane DeHaan. Eventually, “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” flopped, scuttling plans for this Harry to become a multi-film character. Corbet, meanwhile, helmed his first directorial effort, “The Childhood of a Leader,” in 2015, and carved out the exciting career path that he pursues to this day.

While there were many unanswered questions after the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s big Phase Four slate announcement in July 2019, some things were immediately clear about what the MCU’s future looked like. Specifically, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” which would’ve introduced America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), was supposed to drop in theaters on May 7, 2021. Two months after these announcements, Sony and Marvel Studios sewed up a deal to make another solo “Spider-Man” movie together. The project, which would eventually become “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” was set to launch on July 16, 2021, two months after “Multiverse of Madness.”

Given that “No Way Home” was always intended to make use of Doctor Strange and his world of magic, it’s unsurprising to learn an initial version of the project also utilized Chavez. Concept art for “No Way Home” revealed that Gomez’s version of the character would’ve helped out Peter Parker and his pals on their journey. Allegedly, some of her plot functions were transferred over to Ned (who grew quite proficient with a Sling Ring and Strange’s sentient cape in the final film).

Once “Multiverse of Madness” was delayed to its final May 2022 slot, that meant it would be coming out after “No Way Home” in the MCU’s timeline. This required notable changes to the “No Way Home” script, presumably including writing Chavez out so she could debut in a solo “Doctor Strange” outing before interacting with the wider MCU.