Sylvester Stallone has led a massively successful career, that gave birth to some of the most incredible sagas of all time like Rocky and Rambo, and playing a major hand in other franchises as well, like The Expendables. But that’s not all the action that his career has been restricted to:
The Golden Globe winner is even a part of one of the biggest industry-dominating franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
However, way before he became a part of the MCU through his minor supporting role of Stakar Ogord aka Starhawk in the Guardians of the Galaxy film series, he almost became a part of the DC Universe’s Justice League.
And for the DCU, it wasn’t a minor supporting character that Sylvester Stallone would have played either, but rather one of the most prominent and fan-favorite ones from the Justice League: Superman!
Sylvester Stallone Auditioned To Play DC’s Superman
A long, long time before he jumped into the Marvel Cinematic Universe to play the minor character of Stakar Ogord aka Starhawk in the Guardians of the Galaxy saga, Sylvester Stallone had auditioned for a major role from DCU’s Justice League: Superman.
This dates back to the 1970s before even the first proper film on the superhero was created, as per Jonathan Ross. Presumably, it was around 1978, when Christopher Reeve‘s first-ever movie from the Superman film series was in the works.
Around that time, the Rambo alum was still in his early thirties and was riding high on the tides of his Rocky fame. Thus, he decided to try his hand at this superhero game as well, or to be more precise, for the role of DC’s Superman.
Appearing on The Jonathan Ross Show, he admitted to the same, saying:
“I auditioned for Superman.”
However, while he acknowledged the fact that he wanted to play the character through this statement and had thus auditioned for it, Stallone also accepted that he would have been too out of character had he gotten selected.
“I’d have been the world’s shortest Superman. And in concept, I was gonna fly below the trouble. Plus, I don’t look good in leotards, at all. And that was skinny, too skinny.”
Well, considering how Sylvester Stallone stands at around 5’9″ (as per CelebHeights.com), had he been selected to play Superman, then the DC superhero would have been the world’s shortest for sure!
Why Did Sylvester Stallone Join The MCU For Such A Minor Role?
It is no news that in almost every single project he has starred in, Sylvester Stallone has either played the main lead or a prominent character. However, his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe showed him switching lanes.
This ignited a lot of questions about what compelled the action hero to accept such a minor role of Stakar Ogord aka Starhawk in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. Well, for the Expendables star, it was only because he found it “interesting”.
During a press conference in Beverly Hills, California, about the making of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 shortly before the release of the film, Stallone revealed the same as he accepted that he saw the MCU as a version of mythology that evolved with the generations; something that he found himself getting fascinated with.
He said (via Inside the Magic):
“When Kevin [Feige] invited me on board I said, ‘This is interesting because I haven’t gone here. I’m kind of Earth-bound. I’m terrestrial. This is something that takes place in a whole other sphere where James and the Marvel people have created their own world, their own reality.”
Thus, he agreed to drop in and see what was up, and where the future was going, and in the meanwhile, ended up becoming a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe instead of jumping into the shoes of a major character in the DC Universe.
