Jon Hamm's name is often linked to comic book adaptations, but how close he's actually come to any of those projects is hard to say. We know that the Mad Men star was eyed to play Superman once upon a time, while 20th Century Fox also wanted him to tackle Mister Sinister.
In the case of the latter, the plan was for Sinister to debut in The New Mutants, likely becoming the franchise's new big bad once the main X-Men movies finally caught up to the present day in the wake of Dark Phoenix.
The Disney/Fox merger brought a swift end to those plans, of course, and Hamm briefly commented on what might have been while speaking with Josh Horowitz. "That was supposed to happen and didn't," he confirmed. "I think there was some corporate craziness that went on, and they sold the studio, and Disney bought the studio."
The extent of Fox's plans for Hamm as Mister Sinister will likely remain a mystery, as the studio never really planned ahead while mapping out its Marvel movies. When the X-Men franchise is rebooted for the MCU, Sinister is expected to be put front and centre.
As for his near-miss with Superman, Hamm confirmed that he was in the running to play the Man of Steel in 2006's Superman Returns. The lead role in that ultimately went to Brandon Routh.
"My pitch for the Superman thing was like, 'What if Superman was funny like he used to be with Christopher Reeve?' And they were like, 'Great idea. We're going to do that two more Superman's later,'" Hamm joked, referencing James Gunn's 2025 reboot.
When we spoke to Hamm in 2022, we asked about Mister Sinister and his interest in comic book movies. "Yeah, I don't know. Sometimes I find out more about my career from the internet than I actually find out from my agents," he shared. "So, I didn't really know that was in the works until somebody told me that I didn't get it or it didn't happen."
"I really don't know. Like anybody else, I would be thrilled to be part of that storytelling having been a big comic book fan throughout my early teens and early twenties," Hamm said of Mister Sinister potentially crossing his radar again. "So, we'll see. I don't know. It would be a fun person to play, that's for sure. I look good in purple, I'll put it that way."
Who would you like to see Hamm play in the MCU or DCU? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.