A new report has revealed that The Marvels once planned to feature a major Marvel Comics hero played by a very familiar face, someone who once wore the cape and cowl. Marvel cut the role during development, and it did not appear in the final film.
George Clooney could have had a role in The Marvels
George Clooney was once considered for a role in The Marvels. On February 2, 2026, industry scooper @MyTimeToShineHello posted on X: “The original plan for The Marvels was to cast a well known name (they were looking at Clive Owen and George Clooney) to play a big Marvel hero from the comics who we think will have a big role in the movie but then dies at the end of the first act. That was scrapped.”
Marvel ultimately dropped the plan, and the final version of the film did not include such a character.
Clooney had previously been in talks to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a different capacity. According to a 2015 report from Business Insider and details in Sean Howe’s 2013 book Marvel Comics: The Untold Story, Clooney turned down the role of Nick Fury after encountering Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s Fury comic series.
Published under Marvel’s adult-oriented MAX imprint between 2001 and 2002, the comic depicted extreme violence, including a scene where Fury strangles an enemy with the man’s own entrails.
Ennis, co-creator of The Boys, commented on the Clooney situation during a 2024 episode of the Comic Book Herald podcast. He said, “I did hear that, and I’d be fascinated to learn if it was true… I also wonder if it might have been more that perhaps someone said to him — some advisor or another — ‘You don’t wanna go near this.’” Ennis added that Marvel Studios “100% would not have made the character behave the way Ennis wrote him.”
Ultimately, the role of Nick Fury went to Samuel L. Jackson, whose portrayal was based on the Ultimates version of the character. Jackson’s Fury became a central figure in the MCU, beginning with his post-credits appearance in Iron Man (2008).
Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on SuperHeroHype.com.
