Will Smith almost made it as an MCU hero once. The actor is known for his versatility and ability to turn any movie into a success. While he began his career as a comical character, the entertainer learned to adapt and play various roles effortlessly. Today, he is an actor that made it through the toughest of downfalls, as evident from his comeback post the Oscars.

With time, there has been a change in the industry, more varied actors being in the lead. For similar reasons, Smith was also considered for a role in the Marvel Universe to have a black hero on the big screen. But that would have meant missing out on the actor that landed the role.

Which superhero did Will Smith almost play in the MCU?

Can you imagine Will Smith as a Marvel hero? It almost became a reality. After the success of his 2008 action film Hancock, the actor was one of the choices to play the lead in Captain America. Now the comic books had the whitest looking character drawn for decades. But changing times called for a change in the way we see a hero. Derek Luke revealed to MTV in an interview about Will Smith being offered the role of Captain America. 

Samuel Jackson playing Fury in Iron Man set up as one of the example. There has been an aggressive effort of including actors of color, or of another gender to bring alive characters that have been written off as white men years before. Luke himself showed interest in playing Green Lantern, although Ryan Reynolds had to bear the burden of the flop movie.

Now it is not known what happened to the offer Smith got but Evans became the face of Captain America. Regardless, Smith played a comic character through his work with Marvel’s competitor.

How the actor aced the role of a DC character

Will Smith may have missed out on playing America’s hero in a Marvel world, but he did wonders with DC. The actor gained much appreciation for his role as Deadshot in Suicide Squad. However, his busy schedule kept him from returning to the role for a sequel. But maybe he was already part of the MCU in another way.

The Men In Black series that he was part of originally belonged to Aircel Comics. Thereafter, Malibu purchased the company, which was then taken over by MCU. If more parts of the franchise are released, it could perhaps be after joining the Marvel world.

What are your thoughts on Will Smith playing Captain America instead of Chris Evans? Put your opinions in the comments.