Let me tell you, folks, Hollywood is full of surprises, but some casting ideas are so out there, they sound like they came straight from a dream—or maybe a nightmare. Imagine this: Michael Jackson as James Bond or Muhammad Ali as Superman. And then there's Burt Reynolds, who turned down the role of James Bond because he thought 007 had to be British, but somehow ended up being considered for Superman. Believe it or not, these weren't just wild rumors—they were real possibilities at one point. Stick around, because this story gets wilder as we go on.
Now, let’s talk about Michael Jackson. The late King of Pop wasn’t just about music; he had serious aspirations in the world of action heroes. You’ve seen his music video for “Bad” and his role as Captain Eo in that Disney theme park film, right? That movie, written by none other than George Lucas and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, was shown for a decade starting in 1986. But get this—Michael wanted more. He had his eyes set on becoming James Bond, specifically in the late '80s when Roger Moore was stepping down from the role.
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Mike Ovitz, the legendary Hollywood agent, shared a hilarious story in his autobiography, Who is Michael Ovitz?. He recounts a meeting with Michael where things got a little... messy. As Michael was pitching himself as the next action hero, his hat accidentally fell into the guacamole. Instead of freaking out, he just picked it up, guacamole and all, and put it back on his head. This little incident caused Ron Meyer, another agent in the room, to crack up. Despite the laughter, Ovitz caught up with Michael later and explained that they weren’t laughing at him but at the situation. Michael eventually calmed down but reiterated his desire to play James Bond. Ovitz diplomatically told him, “You’re too sensitive, and you wouldn’t be credible as a block of stone. You’d be great at it, but it’d be bad for you.” And that was the end of that conversation.
Now, let’s shift gears to the world of superheroes. Back in the late '70s, director Richard Donner was on a mission to find the perfect actor to play Superman in the iconic film Superman: The Movie. Before Christopher Reeve was chosen, some seriously odd names were thrown into the ring, including Burt Reynolds and Muhammad Ali. Yes, you heard that right—Ali, the heavyweight champion of the world, was considered for the role.
David Newman, who co-wrote the Superman script with his wife Leslie, revealed that they had Burt Reynolds in mind for the role. They wanted to avoid the campiness often associated with superhero films back then. They envisioned Superman as a symbol of truth, justice, and the American way but not as a Boy Scout. They needed someone who could be taken seriously as an action figure yet still bring a touch of playfulness. Burt Reynolds, at the peak of his career, fit that mold perfectly. "We’re talking about the Burt Reynolds of The Longest Yard," Newman explains. "He had this ability to wink at the audience and say, ‘I’m having fun here, folks,’ but you’d still root for him when he punched somebody out." So, they wrote the role with Burt in mind.
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But the strangest possibility, one that almost defies belief, was Muhammad Ali. Here's how it went down: The production team was trying to cast Dustin Hoffman as Lex Luthor, and they were dealing with his European agent, Sir Jarvis Astaire. Astaire was a powerhouse in the world of boxing, having brought close-circuit boxing matches to movie theaters across the UK and Europe. In 1975, Muhammad Ali fought a professional wrestler in Japan, and Astaire made a fortune showing the fight across Europe.
