Johnny Depp has pieced together a truly interesting career in entertainment. He's had success in both film and television, and while some of his projects have been bad, the man has starred in a number of great projects.
Long ago, while Depp was in the midst of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, he found himself up for the role of a Marvel hero who was poised to make some noise at the box office.
Let's take a look at Depp's career and see which Marvel hero he was in contention for.
Johnny Depp's Early Work Put Him On The Map
As one of the biggest and most successful actors of his time, Johnny Depp is a movie star who hardly needs an introduction. The man has done a little bit of everything in the entertainment industry, and he has amassed a list of credits that few people come close to matching.
21 Jump Street was the TV show that helped Depp become a household name, but eventually, he made the transition to the big screen, and he became a huge star that was known for his ability to play eclectic characters.
Early on, Depp knocked it out of the park in movies like Cry-Baby, Edward Scissorhands, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Donnie Brasco, and Sleepy Hollow. From there, he would continue adding to his impressive list of credits, ultimately landing the legendary role of Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.
Impressively, Depp has also done successful movies like Finding Neverland, Sweeney Todd, Alice in Wonderland, Rango, and more.
Even though Johnny Depp has had the ability to star in a number of incredible films, the truth is that he has also lost out on some big opportunities during his career.
Depp Missed Out On Some Big Films
One of the toughest things about being an actor is knowing that you simply cannot appear in all of the projects that you want to. There is just not enough time in the day for an actor to be in everything, and over time, fans are always stunned to learn about the movies that their favorite stars missed out on.
According to Notstarring, Johnny Depp has missed out on films like Backdraft, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Interview with the Vampire, The Matrix, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and even Signs.
Back in the 1980s when he was still just a television star, Johnny Depp was actually up for the role of Ferris Bueller in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, but he was unavailable to take the role.
According to People, "The future 21 Jump Street star was John Hughes's first choice for the title role, but he had to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts. Depp later conceded during an Inside the Actors Studio interview that Broderick did a "great job" in the film."
Unfortunately, these aren't the only movies that Johnny Depp has missed out on. In fact, he missed out on playing a Marvel superhero 15 years ago.
He Was A Contender To Play Ghost Rider
So, which major Marvel hero did Johnny Depp nearly play on the big screen? Shortly before the MCU made it official debut with Iron Man in 2008, Johnny Depp was a strong contender to play the beloved Ghost Rider.
For context, Ghost Rider was a film that came out just one year before Iron Man did, and it starred Nicolas Cage as Johnny blaze. The film was a financial success at the box office, and it even got a sequel, but these days, most people tend to look past it when surveying the history of major Marvel projects.
The movie had some good things going for it, but even Nicolas Cage feels that it should have done things differently.
"Ghost Rider was a movie that always should’ve been an R-rated movie. David Goyer had a brilliant script which I wanted to do with David, and for whatever reason they just didn’t let us make the movie," Cage said.
He even noted that Deadpool successfully pulled off the R-rated thing.
"Heck, Deadpool was R-rated and that did great. Ghost Rider was designed to be a scary superhero with an R-rating and edge, and they just didn’t have it worked out back then,"he added."
Nicolas Cage did a really good job as Johnny blaze in Ghost Rider, but we do have to wonder with Johnny Depp could have done in an R-rated version of that superhero flick.
