MCU: 20 actors who were almost in cast in Marvel movies

Was Emily Blunt offered the role of Black Widow?

Emily Blunt has almost been in the MCU more than once. She has clearly been an actress that Marvel has had their eye on and thought would make a great addition to the MCU. Sadly, it was not meant to be. She missed out on the chance to appear in two different roles.

She was actually cast as Black Widow in Iron Man 2, but she had to cancel because of scheduling conflicts since she was filming Gulliver’s Travels at the time (perhaps a misstep since the movie severely flunked with audiences and critics). Other scheduling conflicts kept her from taking on the role of Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger. It turns out her husband, Jon Krasinski, was almost cast in this film, too (more on that later).

While we definitely think that Scarlett Johansson and Hayley Atwell have both been great in the MCU, it is a fun thought exercise to think about how things might have been different. Maybe Emily Blunt will be able to join the MCU at some future date. We think she would be a good choice, and to be honest, the more exciting, complex female characters we can get in the MCU, the better. There are still lots of other new and unused comic book roles for Blunt to take on, and we’re sure Marvel Studios still has her offer on the table.