Shaquille O'Neal Tried to Get Cast in 'Avengers', But Marvel Turned Him Down

In an interview with Variety about his dunk league Dunkman, Shaquille O'Neal revealed that he tried for years to join the MCU, but was turned down by Marvel. The basketball star said Hollywood executives told him he is "too big" for serious roles.

"I'd love to do more action roles, but Hollywood executives told us I'm too big, and what they mean by that is that when I show up on screen, everyone is going to think, 'Oh, it's Shaq!' So if I'm trying to play a doctor or anything else, my character won't be believable," he said.

O'Neal, who had already expressed interest in appearing in an Avengers movie in 2018, shared how the studio responded. "I wanted to be in Avengers and they said, 'Shaq, we love you and we'd love to put you in it, but if your face shows up on screen, people are going to think, 'Hey, it's Shaq!' He said it in complete honesty, and I thought, 'All right... I guess my face is too big.'"

O'Neal has appeared in a superhero movie before, but for DC, when he played John Irons in Steel, a film based on the character who became popular during the Death of Superman storyline.

Everything you need to know about Avengers: Doomsday

The villain of the story in the fifth Avengers movie will be Doctor Doom, played by Robert Downey Jr., the actor who portrayed the legendary Iron Man in the MCU's Infinity Saga and now takes on the role of antagonist. Avengers: Doomsday (Avengers: Doomsday in the original) will be directed by brothers Anthony and Joe Russo (Endgame), with a script by Michael Waldron (Loki) and Stephen McFreely (Endgame).

Marvel has already confirmed the main cast members for the new movie, in one of the biggest gatherings of MCU stars ever assembled. Returning from previous Avengers films are: Chris Evans as Steve Rogers, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Mackie as Captain America, Sebastian Stan as the Winter Soldier, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Winston Duke as M'Baku, and Letitia Wright as Shuri/Black Panther.

From characters introduced after Avengers: Endgame - in Phases 4 and 5 of the MCU - we have Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, Danny Ramirez as Falcon, the entire new Fantastic Four (Pedro Pascal as Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the Thing), almost the entire cast of Thunderbolts* (Florence Pugh as Yelena, Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent, David Harbour as Red Guardian, Hanah John-Kamen as Ghost, and Lewis Pullman as Bob, the Sentry), and Tenoch Huerta as Namor.

In a livestream announcing the cast, there was also the movie's biggest surprise so far: the return of the classic X-Men from the old Fox films, including Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Ian McKellen as Magneto, James Marsden as Cyclops, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, and, introduced in Deadpool & Wolverine, Channing Tatum as Gambit.

Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18, 2026.