5) Natalie Portman – Jubilee
Natalie Portman now has a prominent role in a superhero franchise as Jane Foster in the Thor films (though it looks like she might have left the part behind), but she could have played another Marvel character much earlier.
For 2000’s original X-Men movie, an early draft of the script featured Jubilee (a character that fans of X-Men: The Animated Series will be familiar with). Usually of Asian descent, she would have been played here by Portman – until the actress decided to turn the part down.
She was apparently integral to the role, too, as the character was subsequently written out of the film entirely once Portman declined to sign on. In her place, Rogue’s role in the story was increased, with the character simply taking over Jubilee’s scenes.
Jubilee finally makes her belated cinematic debut in X-Men: Apocalypse, as played by Lana Condor, but we still can’t help but to wonder how Portman would have done in the part all those years ago.