No comic book character as prominent as Spider-Man has had as many major actors walk through the role in the 21st century. Well, okay, technically Batman has had … five? But mostly in cameos, and, you know what? That’s beside the point. Three stars, each with multiple movies under their belts in just a couple decades, is a pretty rare thing to see. Of course, with so many re-castings, there were also plenty of actors who nearly played the wall-crawler but didn’t.

Heath Ledger, for example, was considered early on for Sam Raimi’s take on the character. Then, years later, actors like Timothée Chalamet and Asa Butterfield were up for the part in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before Tom Holland ultimately snagged it. And when “The Amazing Spider-Man” was in early development, both Josh Hutcherson and Alden Ehrenreich were in the running before Andrew Garfield landed the role of Peter Parker.

Ehrenreich, in particular, apparently got fairly close to securing the role, with Deadline reporting back in 2010 that he had screen-tested for Spider-Man, alongside competitors like Logan Lerman and the late Anton Yelchin. Had he landed the part, his career trajectory may have looked quite different, as it seems questionable that Disney and Lucasfilm would have cast a former Spider-Man as young Han Solo. Since then, as of 2025, Ehrenreich has finally entered the Marvel live-action realm, playing the enigmatic Joe McGillicuddy (no spoilers here) in the Disney+ MCU series “Ironheart.”

The “Amazing Spider-Man” movies never achieved the same critical success as Raimi’s “Spider-Man” trilogy or the later MCU Spidey films, but they led to good things for Andrew Garfield, and it’s easy to imagine Alden Ehrenreich getting the same benefit had he landed the part. Instead, nearly a decade later, he wound up being cast as the young Han Solo in “Solo: A Star Wars Story.”

That film has become somewhat infamous for a vocal minority of backlash against it and a lackluster box office performance, much of which was unfairly pinned on Ehrenreich being a poor choice for the lead. In reality (and I’m speaking as a “Star Wars” super-fan, here), Ehrenreich is arguably the best part of “Solo,” turning in a nuanced performance that brings in elements of Harrison Ford’s iconic turn while adding bits of his own.

Ehrenreich has thankfully rebuilt an impressive career in the wake of “Solo,” with recent parts in films like “Oppenheimer” and “Cocaine Bear,” in addition to his MCU debut. He’s also proven himself to become quite versatile, and it’s fun to consider what his own take on Spider-Man might have looked like. Though we’ll never know, it’s not too late to give “Solo” a second chance if you were one of those folks who wrote it off back in 2018.