Anthony Mackie has now played Sam Wilson, aka The Falcon, in 5 Marvel Studios movies, and he's set to continue his Marvel Cinematic Universe journey as the new Captain America after being handed the mantle by Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) at the end of
Avengers: Endgame.
However, Mackie's MCU adventure could have been
very different.
During a profile on the actor by
Men's Health, the magazine mentions that Mackie actually auditioned to play The Mandarin in Shane Black's
Iron Man 3 back in 2013. It's almost a throwaway reveal and there are no quotes from Mackie, but the fact that Marvel was originally looking at a much younger actor to portray the villain (Ben Kingsley ultimately landed the gig) may suggest that we almost got a very different take on the character.
The
actual Mandarin, perhaps? At any rate, Mackie's screen-test led to a meeting with then producer Joe Russo, and the rest in history.
It's difficult to picture him in the role now, but do you guys think Mackie would have made a good Mandarin? Let us know in the comments, and check out some photos from the actor's shoot with Men's Health.