Superhero movies are a money-making machine in Hollywood, and it is no surprise that dozens of actors make their desire to land a heroic role public knowledge. Take a look at 15 actors who desperately want superhero roles:
15. Caleb McLaughlin (Miles Morales)
Image Source: Flickr/Gage Skidmore & Marvel
Caleb McLaughlin wants to take Miles Morales from animation to live action. At the February 2026 premiere of Goat, he told Variety:
“I would love to play Miles.”
As Lucas Sinclair in Stranger Things, he’s had plenty of practice playing a kid who has to stand up to monsters. Miles would add web-slinging to the job, along with the less fun task of hiding it all from his parents.
14. Alan Ritchson (Batman)
Image Source: Flickr/Gage Skidmore & DC
Alan Ritchson doesn’t play coy about Batman. In a March 2025 WIRED interview, he said:
“You wouldn’t even have to pay me to be Batman.”
Reacher fans have already watched him take on gangs of thugs with his bare hands. You can see why his name keeps coming up for Bruce Wayne, though his wish to wear the cape is still waiting on a casting deal.
13. Tom Hanks (The Flash)
The Academy Award-winning actor is one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood and has played a variety of roles in his long, illustrious career, apart from a superhero. Tom Hanks has never even been in a superhero film, and that bothers him, as the actor has shown interest in playing a Batman villain and Flash.
“I keep trying. Come on, I can do it, even let me play a bad guy, let me play the bad guy against Batman. I’ll do anything, call me, they’ve never asked. And I don’t want to play the guy in the suit who tells the superheroes what’s going on, I want to get in there, I want to play The Flash or something like that. They’ll never give me a chance. God, I want to throw a shield at somebody.”
Throwing a shield at someone is never a good idea, but let’s assume that Hanks was trying to say that he wants to play Captain America as well.
12. Jaden Smith (Static)
He certainly has the hair for it, but it is going to take a lot more than average acting skills and having Will Smith for a dad to play a superhero in a movie.
While Warner Bros. indeed announced a live-action television show based on DC Comics superhero Static and even eyed Jaden Smith for the leading role, nothing has been confirmed yet.
11. Karen Gillan (Poison Ivy)
Image Source: Flickr/Super Festivals & DC Comics
For Karen Gillan, the chance to work with James Gunn again is a big part of the draw. The Guardians of the Galaxy star has named Poison Ivy as the DC role she’d like, and in a 2024 interview she said she’d be keen to play a version who is in a relationship with Harley Quinn.
After all that time in Nebula’s blue makeup, keeping her own red hair would be a nice change.
10. Keke Palmer (Rogue)
Image Source: Gage Skidmore
The fan campaign to make Keke Palmer Rogue got a fairly direct answer. Speaking to ComicBook.com in 2022, she said:
“I’m ready for Rogue.”
If you liked her fast talk as Emerald in Nope (2022), you can see why people keep suggesting her. Rogue has a sharp tongue, and Palmer wouldn’t have to struggle to find that part of the role.
9. Giancarlo Esposito (Magneto)
Image Source: Flickr/Gage Skidmore & Marvel
Gus Fring’s calm stare would be a fair warning to anyone who tried to pick a fight with Magneto. Giancarlo Esposito named the mutant as a role that interests him in a September 2026 interview with Polygon.
He’s already played Sidewinder in Captain America: Brave New World (2025), but Magneto would give him far more than a gun and a grudge to work with.
8. DeWanda Wise (Storm)
Image Copyright: Marvel
DeWanda Wise has one Marvel role on her wish list. In a March 2024 chat with The Movie Dweeb, she said Storm was the only Marvel character she’d ever wanted to play.
She came close to joining the MCU years earlier as Maria Rambeau in Captain Marvel (2019). A clash with her She’s Gotta Have It schedule meant she had to leave the film, though. Her interest in playing Ororo Munroe has survived that disappointment.
7. Daniel Radcliffe (Robin)
Following a lackluster career after Harry Potter, Daniel Radcliffe has never been able to pick up his A-game, as he starred in several movies that have been commercial and critical failures.
Believing that a superhero role can revitalize his career, the British actor desperately wants to play Batman’s sidekick Robin, as he stated:
“If they reboot that again, I’ll do that, too. It’s happening, isn’t it? With Ben Affleck. I could be Robin. I’m perfect.”
6. Bill Murray (Batman)
While Bill Murray has saved New York from ghosts on several occasions, he may have a tough time protecting Gotham City. Believe it or not, the comedy star came close to playing Batman.
“I would have been a fine Batman. You know, there have been a number of Batmen, I thought Michael Keaton did a great job as Batman. It’s obviously a great role,”
said Murray.
5. Nathan Fillion (Booster Gold)
The DC superhero is not anywhere near an exciting crime fighter, but with the right actor for the job, Booster Gold can very well be a game-changer for superhero movies.
Enter Nathan Fillion, who shares a lot of personality traits with the superhero. A suitable choice for the role, the actor stated:
“I think I could take a pretty good crack at Booster Gold. That’s kind of my niche… show-offy, vain. I think I could handle that… not too bright.”
4. Ronda Rousey (Captain Marvel)
With an impressive Mixed Martial Arts record, the former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion has utilized her popularity and rough image to appear in Furious 7 and The Expendables 3.
So it makes perfect sense if Ronda Rousey were to one day star as a hard-hitting superhero. The UFC star hopes to play Captain Marvel once she improves her acting credibility, as she revealed:
“Hopefully by the time Captain Marvel comes around, I will have enough experience and skills in the field for them to really seriously consider me.”
For now, Ronda is nowhere close to getting a chance to play Captain Marvel, as Brie Larson was selected to play the popular female superhero.
3. Terry Crews (Silver Surfer)
Appearing in dozens of movies as just another muscular guy, you would be surprised that Terry Crews desperately wants to play a variety of superheroes. Once asked which character he wanted to play the most, the actor responded:
“You know who else I’d like to play? The Silver Surfer. I always LOVED him – I thought I had the build, the body, I could get on that surfboard, and if they ever do a live-action version of Silver Surfer, I think that would be perfect for me.”
2. Jensen Ackles (Live-Action Batman)
Image Courtesy: Flickr/Gage Skidmore & Ramsey Isler
Jensen Ackles already has the voice. He played Batman in the animated Batman: The Long Halloween (2021), and he’d like to wear the cowl in live action as well.
In a June 2025 interview with Collider, the Supernatural actor said he was hoping for a chance to do it. He also admitted that taking on Batman would make him nervous. That’s a fair response to being handed one of the most watched roles in film.
James Gunn confirmed in October 2026 that Ackles hadn’t been cast in a DCU role.
1. Michael Jackson (Spider-Man)
Surely the last name anyone might have expected on such a list, Michael Jackson can be called many things: musician, songwriter, dancer, humanitarian, and entertainer, but with all due respect, he was not at all a good actor.
With only two feature movies under his belt, Jackson lacked the talent that could have made him a movie star, but Hollywood was not his thing. Still, that did not stop him from pursuing his dream of portraying Spider-Man to the point of attempting to buy Marvel.
As Spider-Man’s creator, Stan Lee reveals:
“I knew Michael Jackson. And with the things he discussed with me, I felt he wanted to be Spider-Man. That was the character that interested him. Yes, he wanted to [buy Marvel]. He felt that would be the only way that he could play Spider-Man.”
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