The Avengers director Joss Whedon brought a handful of actors from his previous projects into the MCU with him, though it was a little surprising that there were ultimately so few of them. One popular Firefly alum very nearly made it into the 2012 blockbuster, though, as Morena Baccarin has revealed that she auditioned for the role of S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Maria Hill.
"I didn't get it at all, I didn't get it at all," she told Josh Horowitz on his Happy Sad Confused podcast. "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 went on to explain that she tested alongside Cobie Smulders, the actress who ultimately landed the role and went on to make several MCU appearances in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and upcoming Disney+ series, Secret Invasion.
"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,'" the Deadpool star continued. "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.'"
It's fascinating to think about what might have been, and we can't help but feel Baccarin could have been a real asset to the MCU. Hopefully, she's given the opportunity to return as Vanessa in Deadpool 3, potentially portraying a more comic accurate version of Copycat in the process.
Secret Invasion, starring Smulders as Maria Hill, is expected to debut on Disney+ in 2023.