History WhatCouldHaveBeen / MarvelCinematicUniverse

* Creator/PaulMescal was approached for the part of Johnny Storm before Creator/JosephQuinn was cast.

* Per "MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios", the plan for the next MythArc post-Endgame was to have Spider-Man, Black Panther and Captain Marvel set up as the new "Big 3" heroes that Iron Man, Captain America and Thor previously inhibited during the Infinity Saga. This plan would end up completely collapsing during the implementation of Phase 4, as Spider-Man's status within the MCU would end up getting ScrewedByTheLawyers due to contractual issues with Sony after the release of ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'', T'Challa was killed off in ''Film/BlackPantherWakandaForever'' due to Creator/ChadwickBoseman [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim passing away from cancer two years prior to the film's release]], and while Carol Danvers is still an ongoing part of the MCU's journey, Creator/BrieLarson's experience with toxic fans has caused her enthusiasm in portraying the character to wane.

[[folder:Agatha]]

* Creator/WilliamHurt passed away two years earlier, or else he could have possibly been featured in the film reprising his role as Thaddeus Ross again. He would be recast with Creator/HarrisonFord.

* Creator/DestinDanielCretton, director of ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'', was originally set to helm this film, but he was taken off the project in 2023 so he could focus on developing the sequel to the film, as well as oversee production on ''Wonder Man''.
* Jeff Loveness was originally set to pen the script for this film, which would've followed up on his work from ''Film/AntManAndTheWaspQuantumania''. However, the poor reception of ''Quantumania'' resulted in Loveness being jettisoned from the project and being replaced with fellow writer Creator/MichaelWaldron.

* Creator/DaveedDiggs was considered for [[ComicBook/TheThing Ben Grimm]] before the casting of Creator/EbonMossBachrach.

* Prior to this film, plans initially existed to continue the franchise under Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios, who were planning on releasing a sequel to ''Film/FantasticFour2015'', and potentially crossing it over with their ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'' slate to established a SharedUniverse. However, the disastrous box office performance and critical thrashing of the movie, combined with the drop in quarterly losses that year, led Fox to quietly scrap plans for the sequel and all crossovers with the ''X-Men''. Moreover, the film's failure helped convince UsefulNotes/RupertMurdoch that his studio was no longer competitive enough, and he ultimately sold it to Disney just two years later, with the deal being finalized in 2019.

* Creator/PaulMescal was approached for the role of Johnny Storm before Creator/JosephQuinn was cast.

* Like the ''Hawkeye'' situation, a solo ''ComicBook/WarMachine'' SpinOff was originally included in Creator/DonCheadle's contract as a potential feature film. [[http://screenrant.com/war-machine-movie-don-cheadle-interview-iron-man-3/ There were discussions]] about the film, and Cheadle's idea was to have Rhodey go rogue and become a fugitive in order to complete a forbidden and politically volatile mission that he viewed as morally right. * Joe Robert Cole was hired to write the script, but the project was shelved due to potential conflicts with Creator/ShaneBlack's plans for Rhodey in ''Iron Man 3''. Cole would later go on to write the ''Black Panther'' film with Ryan Coogler, while the idea of a solo War Machine vehicle would finally see the light of day years later as a Disney+ production...that is, until it was [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/marvels-iron-wars-to-be-movie-don-cheadle-1235230012/ re-retooled into a movie once again in 2022.]]

[[folder:''Thunderbolts'']]
* Creator/JamesGunn was interested in directing a movie focusing on the team, which Kevin Feige claimed was a possibility should ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' do well enough at the box office. The surprise success of ''Guardians'' led to Marvel quickly announcing a sequel, which resulted in ''Thunderbolts'' being relegated to DevelopmentHell. When the film resurfaced with a 2024 release date, Gunn had already stated his intentions on finishing his tenure at Marvel Studios with ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3'', and so it was ultimately Jake Schreier who was chosen to direct it.
* Creator/WilliamHurt passed away two years earlier, or else he could have possibly been featured in the film reprising his role as Thaddeus Ross again. He would be recast with Creator/HarrisonFord.
* The story for this film had to undergo a rewrite in 2023, as apparently there was too much focus put on characters from ''[[Film/BlackWidow2021 Black Widow]]'' rather than on the team as a whole.
* Creator/StevenYeun was originally set to appear as Sentry in this film, but the Writers and Actors' strikes of 2023 delayed the movie's release enough to the point where he had to drop out in early 2024 due to scheduling conflicts. That said, Yeun himself is still interested in appearing in a Marvel film in some capacity.

[[folder:''Blade'']]
* Creator/WesleySnipes, who previously played the titular character in the ''Film/BladeTrilogy'', was approached by Marvel Studios in 2015 to reprise his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe despite that Snipes' films aren't canon within the MCU. However, Creator/MahershalaAli was ultimately cast in the role, [[ApprovalOfGod with Snipes' approval]].
* The film was originally tentatively planned as a TV show, and so Mahershala Ali was informed back when he appeared as Cottonmouth in ''Series/{{Luke Cage|2016}}'', but it took a couple of years for Marvel Studios to reevaluate the idea and opted to bring back Blade in a film.
* Bassam Tariq was originally attached to direct this film, but he was let go sometime in 2022 due to scheduling issues.

[[folder:''Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man'']]
* The series was originally announced to be set in the MCU as a prequel focusing on Peter Parker before the events of ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar''. However, it was eventually shifted to a series set on a different Earth in the wider MCU Multiverse, albeit with some of the actors still reprising their roles (such as Creator/CharlieCox as Daredevil).

[[folder:''Fantastic Four'']]

[[folder:''Armor Wars'']]
* Like the ''Hawkeye'' situation, a solo ''ComicBook/WarMachine'' SpinOff was originally included in Creator/DonCheadle's contract as a potential feature film. [[http://screenrant.com/war-machine-movie-don-cheadle-interview-iron-man-3/ There were discussions]] about the film, and Cheadle's idea was to have Rhodey go rogue and become a fugitive in order to complete a forbidden and politically volatile mission that he viewed as morally right. Joe Robert Cole was hired to write the script, but the project was shelved due to potential conflicts with Creator/ShaneBlack's plans for Rhodey in ''Iron Man 3''. Cole would later go on to write the ''Black Panther'' film with Ryan Coogler, while the idea of a solo War Machine vehicle would finally see the light of day years later as a Disney+ production...that is, until it was [[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/marvels-iron-wars-to-be-movie-don-cheadle-1235230012/ re-retooled into a movie once again in 2022.]]

[[folder:''Daredevil: Born Again'']]
* Chris Ord and Matt Corman were originally the head writers of the show, but they were let go along with the directors lined up in 2023 due to Marvel Studios wanting to overhaul their television division to follow a more traditional small screen production format, with ''Series/{{The Punisher|2017}}'' scribe Dario Scardapane set to pen the series instead.
* Foggy Nelson and Karen Page were originally not planned to make a reappearance in this series, with Creator/EldenHenson and Creator/DeborahAnnWoll confirmed to not be reappearing. After the show's creative overhaul however, both actors were announced to be returning as their characters for ''Born Again''.
* Rumors suggest that the original storyline for the series would have had Matt Murdock abandon being Daredevil after failing to save Foggy and Karen (explaining why their actors were originally not brought back). As well, the Kingpin would have become mayor of New York City with an anti-vigilante slant, mirror his status quo from 2015-2022. [[spoiler:Fisk becoming mayor still appears to be in the cards however, as he expresses interest in an upcoming mayoral election in TheStinger of ''Series/{{Echo|2024}}''.]]
* Apparently Bucky Barnes [[https://heroichollywood.com/daredevil-born-again-reportedly-featured-surprising-mcu-cameo/ was going to make a cameo appearance]] in the original version of the show before it underwent its creative overhaul.
* According to Creator/VincentDOnofrio, ''Born Again'' was originally going to be a SoftReboot that would've made the Netflix Marvel shows (including the first ''Daredevil'' series) CanonDiscontinuity. After the initial pitch failed to impress the people at Marvel Studios however, the show was retooled to explicitly connect with the original ''Series/{{Daredevil|2015}}''.
[[/folder]]

* Creator/AdamDriver, Creator/PennBadgley, Creator/DevPatel, Creator/MattSmith and Creator/JakeGyllenhaal were initially approached for the role of Reed Richards before Creator/PedroPascal was cast. Smith and Gyllenhaal previously portrayed Milo and [[Characters/MCUMysterio Quentin Beck]] in ''Film/{{Morbius|2022}}'' and ''Film/SpiderManFarFromHome'' respectively.
** Creator/ChristopherAbbott and Creator/JamieDornan screen-tested for Mister Fantastic as well before the casting of Pascal. Abbott previously played the Foreigner in ''Film/{{Kraven the Hunter|2024}}''.
* Creator/MargotRobbie and Creator/EmmaStone were offered the part of Susan Storm before the casting of Creator/VanessaKirby, but turned it down due to salary disagreements. Stone previously portrayed Gwen Stacy in ''Film/TheAmazingSpiderManSeries''.

* Creator/DaveedDiggs was in the running for [[ComicBook/TheThing Ben Grimm]] before the casting of Creator/EbonMossBachrach.

[[folder:''Spider-Man: Freshman Year'']]

[[folder:''Avengers: The Kang Dynasty'']]

* Rumors suggest that the original storyline for the series would have had Matt Murdock abandon being Daredevil after failing to save Foggy and Karen (explaining why their actors were not brought back). As well, the Kingpin would have become mayor of New York City with an anti-vigilante slant, mirror his status quo from 2015-2022.

* Chris Ord and Matt Corman were originally the head writers of the show, but they were let go along with the directors lined up in 2023 due to Marvel Studios wanting to overhaul their television division to follow a more traditional small screen production format.

* Creator/StevenYeun was originally set to appear as Sentry in this film, but the Writers and Actors' strikes of 2023 delayed the movie's release enough to the point where he had to drop out in early 2024 due to scheduling conflicts.

[[folder:''Avengers 5'']]
* The original plan for a fifth Avengers movie was going to be called ''Avengers: The Kang Dynasty'', and lead to Kang being the overarching foe akin to Thanos. Multiple TroubledProduction issues made this difficult to work around, and Creator/JonathanMajors legal issues only made it worse. After Majors was [[RoleEndingMisdemeanour fired]] in December 2023, it was eventually announced that it was now just a fifth Avengers film without a title.

* Creator/StevenYeun was originally set to appear as Sentry in this film, but the Writers and Actors' strikes of 2023 delayed the movie's release enough to the point where he had to drop out in early 2024.

[[folder:''Avengers 5]]
* The original plan for a fifth Avengers movie was going to be called ''Avengers: The Kang Dynasty'', and lead to Kang being the overarching foe akin to Thanos. Multiple TroubledProduction issues made this difficult to work around, and Creator/JonathanMajors legal issues only made it worse. In December 2023, it was eventually announced that the original pitch was now just a fifth Avengers film.

[[folder:''Avengers: The Kang Dynasty'']]

* Jeff Loveness was originally set to pen the script for this film, which would've followed up on his work from ''Film/AntManAndTheWaspQuantumania''. However, the poor reception of ''Quantumania'' resulted in Loveness being jettisoned from the project.

* Jeff Loveness was originally set to pen the script for this film, which would've followed up on his work from ''Film/AntManAndTheWaspQuantumania''. However, the poor reception of ''Quantumania''resulted in Loveness being jettisoned from the project.

* Jeff Loveness was originally set to pen the script for this film, which would've followed up on his work from ''Film/AntManAndTheWaspQuantumania''. However, the poor reception of ''Quantumania'', combined with Marvel's plans to move away from Kang as a whole, resulted in Loveness being jettisoned from the project.

* Creator/DanielDestinCretton, director of ''Film/ShangChiAndTheLegendOfTheTenRings'', was originally set to helm this film, but he was taken off the project in 2023 so he could focus on developing the sequel to the film, as well as oversee production on ''Wonder Man''.

* ''Trivia/TheMarvels2023''

[[folder:Daredevil: Born Again]]