Opportunity comes once in a lifetime, and if you want to grab it, then you have to be diligent enough with possession of vision. This also applies to roles that Hollywood stars receive, and the decision depends on them whether or not to take it. Benedict Cumberbatch, one of the biggest names in the industry today, made it to the top of the hierarchy with his decision of taking on the role of Doctor Strange in the MCU, and the rest is history.
But it’s not like the English actor was the first choice for Marvel Studios when it came to scouting the perfect master of the Mystic Arts for the entire franchise going forward, in fact, there were many, including current MCU and DC stars that rejected this offer, something that they would later come to regret as the character became one of the most important superheroes in the cinematic universe’s narrative along with making $1.6 Billion at the box office. Below are these 5 stars that either passed on or lost the offer to become Doctor Strange.
1: Jake Gyllenhaal
While he may have joined the MCU as Quentin Beck, popularly known by his villainous alter-ego Mysterio, there was a time when Jake Gyllenhaal was in the running to play Doctor Strange in the franchise. But since there were many stars that were in consideration from Marvel Studios who had the experience of making action superhero films in their career, the Brokeback Mountain star couldn’t make it far into the audition process.
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2: Jared Leto
Before Benedict Cumberbatch was even in the race, Marvel Studios was considering Doctor Strange to be played by Jared Leto, a star who later went on to play comic book characters from the pages of both Marvel and DC as Morbius and Joker respectively. But as we already know, those roles were disappointing due to the execution of the films, and it felt like the star rejecting the role of the Sorcerer Supreme was one of the biggest mistakes of his career.
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3: Oscar Isaac
Just like Gyllenhall, actor Oscar Issac was in the race for the role of Doctor Strange in the MCU, as he had made a name for himself with his previous films like A Most Violent Year and Inside Llewyn Davis. Yet again, just like Gyllenhaal, Issac couldn’t make it to the end. But luckily, the star has already played three characters from Marvel Comics, which are Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse, Miguel O’Hara’s Spider-Man 2099 in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and his iconic role of Moon Knight in Disney+’s Moon Knight, which officially introduced him into the MCU.
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4: Ethan Hawke
Another one of Isaac’s co-stars was found to be in the running for the role of Strange, and it was none other than the antagonist of Moon Knight Ethan Hawke, who played the role of Arthur Harrow in the show. Hawke revealed that director Scott Derrickson, the man behind Doctor Strange who he also had worked with in the past, approached him as well, and he was all for it, but the reason behind him not being selected was the fact that he didn’t possess as big a fanbase as Cumberbatch did, which was needed if you were to create a blockbuster.
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5: Joaquin Phoenix
One of the biggest names in the film industry today for depicting the psychotic clown of Gotham City, Joaquin Phoenix was the first star that was approached by Marvel Studios with the proposition of playing Doctor Strange. And while he does enjoy comic book movies, he would not sign the contract after learning just how much time and effort he would have to put into a multi-film deal and decided to pursue his indie ventures. Later, we would see the star in WB’s Joker, where he gave a performance of a lifetime.
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