The Incredible Hulk
Casting the perfect role player to act Earth ’s Mightiest Heroes was integral toThe Avengers ’ succeeder . If the iconic superheroes were n’t being played by actors who were both perfect for their theatrical role and divvy up immaculate on - screen chemical science , then Marvel ’s challenging crossing over epic would n’t have work nearly as well as it did . Two role that prove to be difficult to cast were Thor and the Hulk .
It was cunning to range Thor because ascertain a man who can convincingly meet a graven image is promiscuous said than done , and it was tricky to throw the Hulk because they had to do it twice .
Updated on July 21st , 2022 by Colin McCormick : With the release ofThor : Love and Thunder , Chris Hemsworth becomes the first MCU headliner to lead four solo movies . He also further cement his iconic role as the God of Thunder make it unimaginable to picture anyone else taking on the part so successfully . Of of course , there were other exciting choice drift around the part of Thor as well as that of the destructive hero , Hulk . While things seemed to twist out for the better , fans can take a look at some more molding decisions that might have been .
Thor
Alexander Skarsgård
Alexander Skarsgård is an actor of unbelievable range . He has starred in outrageous comedies likeZoolander , intense play likeBig Little Lies , and gaga legal action moving picture likeBattleship . But his late persona as a vengeful Viking inThe Northmanmakes it easygoing to see why he was intimately couch as Thor .
Skarsgård confirmed toMTVthat he discourse the office both with director Kenneth Branagh and Marvel gaffer Kevin Feige . He even claims that he get to try on the iconic costume before Chris Hemsworth was choose for the theatrical role . Interestingly , his Father of the Church Stellan Skarsgard went on to play Erik Selvig in the Thor moving picture .
Liam Hemsworth
Though Chris Hemsworth is the most famous of them all , the Hemsworth family has produced an impressive amount of ace . Liam Hemsworth is the star of such moviesas The Hunger Gameswhile Luke Hemsworth stars in Westworld as well as cameoing inThor : RagnarokandThor : Love and Thunder .
However , there was almost a much different dynamic in the crime syndicate as Chris Hemsworth toldMensXPhe was initially passed over for the function only for his pal Liam to become a top contender . Chris Hemsworth also added that it would be fun to see Liam pop up as amultiversal variant of the classical Marvel hero .
Tom Hiddleston
Although Tom Hiddleston ended up being the ideal selection to play Loki , the trickster god is n’t the part that he was ab initio up for . He first screen - examine for the role of Thor before the Marvel molding team realized he was better beseem to recreate his mischievous brother .
Hiddleston leaven to be so popular as Loki that no matter how many times he dies , the MCU keeps bringing him back even deeming him worthy ofhis own spinoff in the MCU .
Brad Pitt
In the early development ofThor , Brad Pitt was under consideration for the title role . He would ’ve brought establish star power to the MCU and his take on the God of Thunder would doubtless have been different than Chris Hemsworth ’s .
Pitt has yet to play a major role in a superhero franchise , but he did make a hilarious cameo appearance as the Vanisher inDeadpool 2 .
Channing Tatum
Channing Tatum was considered for both the function of Thor and Steve Rogers . However , he never made it to the short list for either of these parts .
Tatum has proven himself in a number of action movies over the years but has yet to take on a superhero role . But despite plans within the Fox universe falling through , there are still many fans who recollect Tatum is the rightactor to fiddle Gambit in the MCU .
Charlie Hunnam
Prior to the cast of Chris Hemsworth , Charlie Hunnam got pretty far in the molding process for Thor . He even did a screen trial in the part of the God of Thunder .
WhileSons of Anarchyhas furnish Hunnam with lasting success , he ’s struggle to get a enfranchisement off the ground . He turned down the role of Christian Grey inFifty Shades of Grey , which was probably a smart move , and his attempt at launch aKing Arthurcinematic universe flush it hard at the box business office .
Daniel Craig
Marvel ’s first choice for the function of Thor was Daniel Craig . However , his commitment to the James Bond franchise prevented him from take the part .
This force Marvel to widen their search for the gross actor to recreate Thor , eventually landing on Chris Hemsworth , who ’s undeniably better - suited to the part than Craig .
Hulk
Mark Ruffalo
Obviously , Mark Ruffalo is the actor who plays Hulk in the MCU and he will be reprising that rolein season 1 ofShe - HulkDisney+ . But he was not the first actor to play the role in the MCU .
The Incredible Hulkwas the movie that introduced the big green hero to the cinematic universe with Edward Norton playing the theatrical role . But in an interview withEmpire , director Louis Leterrier admitted to that Ruffalo was his first pick before Norton took on the use . As fate would have it , Norton was uninterested in continuing on in the role and Ruffalo take over in the MCU ’s biggest recasting yet .
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey is one of the few Hollywood whiz who have yet to diddle some character in a superhero labor . However , the Oscar - winning histrion did patently attempt to join the Marvel universe years earlier without any luck .
When verbalise to theHappy Sad Confusedpodcast , McConaughey blab out about his lovemaking of the 1970s series about the type and approached Marvel about getting involved in their Hulk projects . grant to McConaughey , their response was " No , thank you . "
Eric Bana
WhenThe Incredible Hulkwas first in development , the producer were n’t sure whether to reboot entirely or build on from Ang Lee ’s 2003 Hulk motion-picture show .
Marvel approach Eric Bana about reprising his purpose as Bruce Banner from that movie , but the role player was n’t concerned in play the Hulk enough to commit to the monumental multi - movie contract that the studio apartment wanted him to sign .
Liev Schreiber
Before Edward Norton was cast to work Bruce Banner inThe Incredible Hulk , Marvel considered Liev Schreiber for the role . If he ’d landed the part , it might have prevented him from committing to star inRay Donovan .
Schreiber has since played two supporting use in non - MCU Marvel film : Victor Creed inX - Men Origins : Wolverineand Wilson Fisk inSpider - Man : Into the Spider - Verse .
David Duchovny
David Duchovny was under consideration for the lead role inThe Incredible Hulkbefore Edward Norton was cast and quickly abut heads with the Marvel brass .
Duchovney ’s best television roles includeThe X - FilesandCalifornicationfor their fabulously long runs , Duchovny would n’t have been as overwhelmed by the decade - long commitment required by the MCU than the otherAvengersactors .
Dominic Purcell
Dominic Purcell was considered to play Bruce Banner , although his chiseled physical body is close to Lou Ferrigno than Bill Bixby . The histrion had antecedently played Marvel ’s variant of Dracula inBlade : Trinity .
Although Purcell did n’t get to play Banner , he has encounter success in the CW ’s DC enfranchisement , playact Heat Wave in bothThe FlashandLegends of Tomorrow .
Joaquin Phoenix
Joaquin Phoenix was on the shortlist to fiddle Bruce Banner , but he turned it down as he was reluctant to sign on for a multi - movie contract . Marvel afterward offered him the role of Stephen Strange and he turned it down for the same understanding .
What attracted Phoenix to his Oscar - winning purpose inJokerwas the fact that Warner Bros. did n’t make him put to subsequence and were felicitous to allow the film stand on its own .
NEXT:10 MCU Actors & Their Best Role Before Joining The MCU , According To IMDb
