For the most part, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been impeccable when it comes to casting the expansive roster of superheroes and supporting players, albeit with a couple of notable exceptions. Terrence Howard was paid more than Robert Downey Jr. to appear in Iron Man, but he was dropped and replaced by Don Cheadle for the sequel. Cheadle’s Rhodey has now been a part of the franchise for over a decade and he’s still not done yet, with in-development Disney Plus exclusive Armor Wars finally putting him front and center.
Similarly, Edward Norton’s famously prickly reputation and the disappointing box office performance of The Incredible Hulk saw Mark Ruffalo drafted in as Bruce Banner for The Avengers, and it now seems impossible to imagine anyone else filling the role of the MCU’s resident mild-mannered scientist and giant green rage monster.
In 99.9% of cases, though, Marvel Studios have been right on the money when it comes to narrowing down the shortlist and picking the right actor or actress for the job. In fact, Tom Holland recently went into detail about the arduous process he went through before finding out he’d snagged the role of Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War, but even before the movie was released, he thought he’d end up getting fired.
“From the moment of shooting Civil War to Spider-Man: Homecoming, I was convinced they were going to fire me. I don’t know why. Civil War hadn’t come out yet, and I just didn’t hear anything from anyone. I can’t really explain it. It was awful, but they didn’t obviously. It’s been crazy, mate. I’ve loved every minute of it.”
Even after Civil War rocketed to over a billion dollars at the box office, with Holland’s Spider-Man going down a storm despite his involvement being limited to a handful of scenes, the star still thought he’d be let go until cameras started rolling on his first solo adventure. But given that he’s currently shooting his sixth appearance as the web-slinging superhero, and is also expected to show up in Sony’s SPUMC, it seems he’s going to be Spidey for a long time to come.