9 Movie Posters That Almost Happened

Will Smith was Quentin Tarantino's first pick for the title role of 'Django Unchained,' but the Fresh Prince had to turn it down because of commitments to 'Men in Black 3.' Definitely reminds us of the time Michael Caine couldn't accept his Oscar because he was filming 'Jaws 4.'

Mark Wahlberg met with 'Brokeback' director Ang Lee, but did not protest when the role he was considered for went to somebody else because he was "creeped out" by the idea of playing a gay cowboy. Sure. But 'Fear' was tooooooootally cool.

Hoffman was nearly Rick Deckard in 'Blade Runner.' After months of discussion, Hoffman eventually left the project because he was trying to make a different movie than director Ridley Scott.

The rewrite process for 'Silver Linings Playbook' took director David O. Russell years to complete. By the time it was finished, it was no longer a movie for Vince Vaughn and Zooey Deschanel to scream and cute their way through, respectively.

The story of Liam Neeson and the time he was almost Abraham Lincoln is remarkably similar to the previous one. The movie took forever to come into fruition -- Neeson was first attached to the project in 2005 but left after a few years, feeling he was too old for the role. (According to Sally Field, the passing of his wife Natasha Richardson also influenced Neeson's decision.) It seems he's maybe a little more interested in action movies these days anyway.

Sean Connery famously turned down the role of Gandalf in the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy because he didn't understand the screenplay. It's a decision that has reportedly cost him $450 million.

You read that right: Nicolas Cage actually turned down a part for a movie. (Not 'Ghost Rider 2.' He did that one.) 'The Matrix.' He turned down 'The Matrix.' To be fair, Cage said the choice was made because filming the movie in Australia would have kept him from his family for too long a time. Also, he hadn't bought that dinosaur head yet.

Reportedly, Robin Williams was wanted to play the part of the Riddler in 'Batman Forever,' but director Joel Schumacher went with Jim Carrey instead. Maybe it was because he wanted his Batman movie to be the same level of quality as 'The Mask.' Mission accomplished.

Although Harrison Ford was Steven Spielberg's first choice for Indiana Jones, George Lucas wanted to cast Tom Selleck because Ford had already appeared in 'American Grafitti' and 'Star Wars.' Selleck, on the other hand, decided to play the good guy, and turned down the part because his contract for 'Magnum, P.I.' prevented him from taking any other projects. In an ironic twist, a writer's strike prevented 'Magnum, P.I.' from filming, and the show didn't get back to work until 'Indiana Jones' was wrapping up shooting. Indy narrowly missed having a sweet 'stache.