There are a lot of actors who want to play Peter Parker or Spider-Man on the big screen right now. But before it was different, there were some actors who even turned down the offer to play the role of Spider-Man!
Here are 7 actors who missed out on the role of Spider-Man regardless of the reason!
1. James Franco
James Franco is the actor who played Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man. But did you know that he was once casting for the role of Peter Parker? Despite casting for the main role, Franco “falls” to a supporting role, he was chosen to play Harry Osborn – Peter Parker’s best friend and of course he accepted the role.
Things like this often happen in superhero movies, for example Tom Hiddleston auditions for the role of Thor but turns out to be Loki instead.
2. Leonardo DiCaprio
While Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movie was still just a sketch, Leonardo DiCaprio was a strong candidate to play Peter Parker. When he was invited to star in the ’90s Spider-Man movie, the actor admitted he wasn’t ready to put on a superhero suit. In addition, Leonardo DiCaprio is also considered too handsome to play Peter Parker.
3. Tom Cruise
In the MCU, Tom Cruise almost played Tony Stark/Iron Man, but in the ’80s things were different. In the 80s, producer Cannon Films wanted to make a Spider-Man movie, and one of the potential candidates for the role was Tom Cruise. Unfortunately, because there was not enough budget to make the movie, Spider-Man also evaporated because of that.
4. Asa Butterfield
Before Tom Holland, the young actor targeted to play Peter Parker in the MCU was Asa Butterfield. He even did an on-screen test as Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War with RDJ. But his role was canceled and replaced by Tom Holland, which could be a decision from Marvel or from Asa Butterfield’s side.
5. Frank Dillane
It seems that Peter Parker’s version of The Amazing Spider-Man is really designed to have a “wild” appearance, not “sobs” like Tobey Maguire. Because before Andrew Garfield was cast, actor Frank Dillane was also assigned to play Peter Parker. But his role was also discontinued and he was replaced by Andrew Garfield as we know it today.
6. Josh Hutcherson
The producers of The Amazing Spider-Man once assigned Josh Hutcherson to play Peter Parker. However, for reasons unknown specifically, his role was replaced by Andrew Garfield.
7. Jake Gyllenhaal
Before Spider-Man 2 was in production, Tobey Maguire had an accident that left him injured and feared he wouldn’t be able to finish the film. So Jake Gyllenhaal – who previously almost played Peter Parker – has almost been appointed again to play Peter in the second movie. But Tobey Maguire was able to recover on schedule so that filming would not be interrupted.
