The Avengers was released in 2012, marking the first time that every title character in the MCU appeared in the same project alongside one another. Fans got to see what it was like to hear the banter between heroes such as Chris Evans' Captain America and Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man, and ultimately, how a group of main characters could all fit into the same movie together.
When it comes to casting, Marvel Studios is often praised for the choices it makes. Characters in the franchise tend to appear across multiple films, so when an actor is confirmed to be in a role, they have to be prepared for the long haul. After seeing a certain actor as the same character so many times, the viewer gets accustomed to that, and it is hard to imagine anyone else in that same role.
In The Avengers, actress Cobie Smulders made her MCU debut as Agent Maria Hill, and she is still portraying the character to this day. However, when auditions were going on, another actress was also a frontrunner for the part, and she recently revealed why she didn't get it.
Morena Baccarin on Almost Playing Maria Hill
Actress Morena Baccarin, who is known for portraying the character Vanessa in Marvel's Deadpool, recently joined The Happy Sad Confused podcast to talk about when she auditioned for the role of Maria Hill in The Avengers.
The director of The Avengers, Joss Whedon, reportedly liked Baccarin for the role, but Baccarin stated on the podcast that she "didn't get [the premise of the role] at all" and just "couldn't see it on the page:"
"I didn't get it at all, I didn't get it at all. I love that [Joss Whedon] brought me in for it. He kept telling me she was like Sigourney Weaver in Alien, that she had this kind of hard edge to her, and I was like 'I don't understand.' I couldn't see it on the page, I couldn't do it."
Baccarin also revealed that she "tested" alongside Cobie Smulders, the actress that eventually landed the part. The Deadpool actress also said that she could tell Smulders would be the one to "get this part:"
"I tested. I was there with Cobie, we tested against each other and I was like, 'She's going to get this part, I can see it.' He wanted me to be emotional but hold it all in and be hard, and I was like, 'I don't know what you're asking me to do. I can't do it.'"
Baccarin then stated that not getting the part wasn't something that she was upset about and agreed that Smulders was the right person for the role.
Morena Baccarin Back for Deadpool 3?
Just because Morena Baccarin didn't land the part of Maria Hill in The Avengers, that doesn't mean she won't appear in the MCU in the future. The actress played a large role in the two Deadpool movies as the love interest of Ryan Reynold's Wade Wilson.
After Marvel Studios acquired the rights to Deadpool, fans knew it was only a matter of time before the Merc with a Mouth made his debut in the MCU. While the character hasn't officially appeared in any movies or the Disney+ series, he was seen alongside Taika Waititi's Korg in a promotional video for Ryan Reynold's 2021 film Free Guy. This made the buzz around Deadpool 3 even greater, and it is a project that has been confirmed for the future.
Many fans will remember that Baccarin's character, Vanessa, died in the opening scene of Deadpool 2, making it unlikely for her to appear again in the future. However, for the viewers that stuck around for the post-credits scene, Wade was able to go back in time and, according to him, "clean up the timelines" by changing different events in the past.
The first place that he transported himself back to was his apartment, where he was able to successfully save Vanessa from the shooting that ultimately led to her demise.
This opens up a loophole for her death to never have actually happened, and with time travel being such an integral part of the MCU, fans can expect Vanessa to be coming back for the threequel.
The Avengers is currently streaming on Disney+, and Deadpool 3 is in development at Marvel Studios.
