Superhero movies aren't for everyone. Many actors have donned capes, cowls, and spandex, later admitting that they didn't enjoy the experience and wouldn't do it again.
However, only a small handful of performers have returned to roles they seemingly hated.
Some did so because they were contractually obliged. Others, meanwhile, wanted a second chance or were offered enough money to swallow their pride. A few were perhaps even gluttons for punishment and didn't know when to say "no." All of them are featured here.
To find out who falls into the categories above, all you need to do is click on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below.
8. Alan Cumming - Nightcrawler
Alan Cumming made a one-and-done appearance in 20th Century Fox's X-Men franchise, delivering a scene-stealing turn as the teleporting Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United.
He didn't return for X-Men: The Last Stand, but will once again transform into Kurt Wagner for Marvel Studios' Avengers: Doomsday. However, what we didn't realise is that his MCU debut is serving as a "healing" experience for the actor.
"It was amazing. It was actually really...in a sort of ooey, gooey way, it was really healing and really nice to go back to something that it was a terrible experience when I did it the first time," Cumming has said of his return as Nightcrawler. "[Avengers: Doomsday is a] great film, great film. I love the film."
It's no secret that filmmaker Bryan Singer fostered a toxic environment on set, and we're fortunate that it didn't put the actor off from reprising the role over two decades later.
7. James Franco - Harry Osborn
James Franco put himself on the map playing Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. His best work came in the sequel, but by the time the disappointing third instalment was released, it felt like he was playing a parody of the character (and not just because of that goofy "Green Goblin" costume he wore).
Franco has since made it abundantly clear he didn't have a good time playing Harry after that first movie, saying: "I worked really hard on them, but they weren’t movies that I cared about. And after they came out, I just felt so awful."
He later admitted that being part of the Spider-Man franchise made him realise that, as an actor, "Only do projects that you care about, that you believe in, and that idea really just came out of having a bad experience on those movies."
The actor still reteamed with Raimi on Oz: The Great and Powerful, but regretted ever getting locked into a three-picture deal as part of the wall-crawler's first big screen trilogy.
6. Jennifer Garner - Elektra
Jennifer Garner played Elektra in 2003's Daredevil, and despite being killed off at the end of that movie, the actress returned two years later for a solo outing.
Believe it or not, Affleck—who has openly slated Daredevil and said how much he hated playing the Man Without Fear—returned as Matt Murdock for a deleted scene, likely because he was contractually obligated to do so. Garner, meanwhile, was in the same boat and found herself forced to star in this entire terrible movie rather than being fortunate enough to wind up on the cutting room floor.
She's described the 2005 release as "awful," while her now ex-boyfriend Michael Vartan has revealed that, "I heard [Elektra] was awful. [Jennifer] called me and told me it was awful. She had to do it because of Daredevil. It was in her contract."
Despite this, Garner suited up at least once more as Elektra in last summer's Deadpool & Wolverine. Despite having a terrible experience in the mid-2000s, she was tempted back for a third and, likely final, crack at the assassin.
5. Ryan Reynolds - Deadpool
Ryan Reynolds never hated Deadpool; in fact, he loved him enough that he was responsible for leaking the test footage, which helped the 2016 movie become a reality.
However, it's no secret that the actor hated the version of Wade Wilson he played in 2009's X-Men Origins: Wolverine. This "Deadpool" was introduced as the wisecracking mercenary in a series of cheesy action scenes—he sliced a bullet in half with a sword—only to later become Weapon XI, a.k.a. "Barakapool," in the critically panned movie's final act.
"It was a very frustrating experience," Reynolds later recalled. "I was already attached to the Deadpool movie. We hadn't at that point written a script yet. [Wolverine] came along and it was sort of like, 'Play Deadpool in this movie or we'll get someone else to'. And I just said, 'I'll do it, but it's the wrong version. Deadpool isn't correct in it.'"
It was an undeniable disaster, and Reynolds even had to come up with his own lines. We have to believe he only came back because he knew he could play the Deadpool.
4. Idris Elba - Heimdall
As we've established, not even the Marvel Cinematic Universe is immune to leaving actors unhappy with the characters they've played. Only one would continuously keep coming back, with none of his subsequent appearances massively improving on the last.
Idris Elba's Heimdall was a non-factor in Thor and a disappointment at best in Thor: The Dark World. Looking back at reshoots for that sequel, the actor would remember thinking, "'This is torture, man. I don't want to do this.'" My agent said: 'You have to, it's part of the deal'. Then there I was, in this stupid harness, with this wig and this sword and these contact lenses. It ripped my heart out."
Despite that, he did return in Taika Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok to be given only a slightly better role.
Marvel Studios finally freed Elba in Avengers: Infinity War when Thanos killed the Asgardian. Still, the actor can't have harboured too many hard feelings, seeing as he showed up in Thor: Love and Thunder's post-credits scene.
3. Ben Affleck - Batman
After having a rough time playing Daredevil, everyone was shocked when Ben Affleck decided to sign up to play the Dark Knight in 2016's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Unfortunately, that movie was panned by critics as well (as was Suicide Squad, a movie Affleck made a couple of cameos in), and 2017's Justice League didn't fare much better.
Pushed to his breaking point, Affleck finally called it a day by walking away from both the role of Bruce Wayne and The Batman, a project he was initially writing, directing, and set to star in.
The pressures and backlash which came with playing this DC Comics character also coincided with the actor's public issues with alcohol, and it's clear Batman is a role he fell out of love with and wanted to move on from (The Batman was far enough along that he even shared test footage of Deathstroke).
Shockingly, he'd eventually agree to suit up not once or twice, but three times. Those cameos came in Zack Snyder's Justice League, The Flash, and a scene cut from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Now, we'd bet on Affleck being well and truly over cape sh*t.
2. Dave Bautista - Drax
Aquaman star Jason Momoa was originally eyed to play the MCU's Drax, but the role instead went to pro wrestler turned actor Dave Bautista (better known as Batista in the WWE).
The actor stole the show in both the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers franchises, but while we all enjoyed the hilarity that ensued, Bautista did not. He's said it was a "relief" to end his time as the hero in Vol. 3 and admitted, "It wasn’t all pleasant. It was hard playing that role...I just don’t know if I want Drax to be my legacy - it’s a silly performance, and I want to do more dramatic stuff."
He'd later call his MCU exit "perfect," but said Marvel Studios dropped the ball on the character and the more serious storyline we were promised when the Destroyer vowed to avenge his daughter's death by killing Thanos.
Somewhere along the line, Marvel Studios and James Gunn recognised that Bautista had some serious comedy chops and chose to pigeonhole the character. As a result, Bautista kept coming back to a role he grew increasingly disillusioned and frustrated with.
1. George Clooney - Batman
1997's Batman and Robin was a cheesy, disappointing bomb that existed solely to sell toys. The actor has repeatedly reflected on the movie over the years, admitting that he hated the experience and confessing that he dropped the ball on the Caped Crusader.
"My son, his new guy that he loves is Batman," Clooney confessed in one recent interview. "I said to him, 'I was Batman,' and he was like, 'not really,' and I was like, 'you have no idea how right you are."
Despite that, the actor must have owed someone a favour because he returned as Bruce Wayne in 2023's The Flash. That was for a cringeworthy scene that saw Barry Allen meet his new reality's Batman, only for a CG tooth to fall out of his mouth.
We're not surprised that Clooney didn't suit up for his brief return, but the fact he came back at all is mind-blowing. However, we wouldn't bank on him playing Bruce again (he didn't even bother to shave for this cameo).