10 MCU Villains Almost Introduced Years Earlier By Unused Scripts

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Summary

Many memorable and intimidating Marvel villains have been left out of the MCU films, with some almost making appearances in various scripts but ultimately being cut due to time constraints or re-writes.
Characters like Nightmare, Lord Tantalus, and Ezekiel Stane were all planned to appear in Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, and The Avengers, respectively, but were ultimately scrapped from the final films.
The inclusion of these cut villains could have added depth and excitement to their respective films, and while some of them have made appearances in later projects or adaptations, many of them remain forgotten and unseen.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has had a dense roster of Marvel Comics villains to draw from over the years for inclusion in its films, with many of them almost appearing years earlier than their eventual debut. From small-time crooks to mighty universal threats, the MCU's villains have run the gamut of power, charisma, and ubiquity. As such a collaborative and intricate series of films, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has left a lot on the cutting room floor over the years, including some excellent villains.
Re-writes would seal the doom of many Marvel characters that would've been fascinating to see on screen, many of which being intimidating antagonists. Some of these cut villains would go on to terrorize audiences in future films, but many more of them would never see the light of day. It's possible upcoming Marvel projects could find a way to incorporate these forgotten baddies, but as it stands, not every character written out of an MCU script was lucky enough to return.
Your browser does not support the video tag. 10 Nightmare Almost Introduced In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Doctor Strange has a difficult rogues gallery to fill out, his threats typically being cosmic beings that are capable of matching his arcane power. But one of Strange's most terrifying foes nearly made an appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the enigmatic Nightmare. The manifestation of human terror, Nightmare is one of several Fear Lords, ruling over the Dream Dimension and living up to his name by torturing minds as they sleep.
In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it seems that Nightmare would've forced Strange to confront his deepest traumas, making him re-live the death of his sister on an icy lake (via Comicbook.com). Concept art even showed Nightmare accompanied by his trusty steed, Dreamwalker, a black horse of death. Unfortunately, it seems Nightmare's inclusion couldn't justify the screen time in a script already dense with exposition, keeping him locked away in the minds of fans for the time being.
9 Lord Tantalus Almost Introduced In Guardians of the Galaxy

With a bigger, spacefaring scope of adventure, the Guardians of the Galaxy also tend to face off against villains with more gravitas. Only threats that can endanger the entire galaxy are usually worthy of their combined effort, and Lord Tantalus certainly fits the bill. A terrifying galactic tyrant, Tantalus was created by a rogue dreaming celestial, the godlike entities of the MCU's cosmic pantheon.
In the comics, Tantalus was known for his love of conquest, being the one to inspire the Skrulls to begin their search of galactic domination. Lord Tantalus is feared far and wide for his Black Legacy, his ability to instantly kill organic beings with a mere touch. Concept art for Guardians of the Galaxy showed Tantalus rubbing shoulders with Thanos and Ronan the Accuser (via Comicbook.com), but sadly, the additional alien warlord was ultimately cut.
8 Ezekiel Stane Almost Introduced In The Avengers

As the very first villain in the MCU, Obadiah Stane, a.k.a. The Iron Monger, has left a shockingly small impact on the universe going forward. However, original drafts of The Avengers proved that wasn't the case, with Iron Man's vanquished foe returning to haunt him via Ezekiel Stane. His father's son, Ezekiel in the comics went about creating his own armor, improving on both his father's and Tony's designs.
Originally worried that Loki alone wouldn't be enough of a threat to justify the assembly of The Avengers, Joss Whedon included Ezekiel Stane in a re-write to give the God of Mischief some back-up (via Comicbookmovie.com). Though the character's presence was shot down by Kevin Feige, Stane could've been a fascinating revenge story to help make Iron Man's involvement feel more personal. Elements of his character have certainly been carried over, with many MCU villains with grudges against Tony Stark rearing their heads since The Avengers.
7 Crimson Dynamo Almost Introduced In Iron Man

Far from the only adversary of Tony Stark to create their own armor, Obadiah Stane was nearly replaced by Crimson Dynamo in the original Iron Man script. Russia's answer to Iron Man, the Crimson Dynamo of the comics was a state-funded power armor wearer. In the MCU's premiere film, Dynamo might've served as Tony Stark's nemesis while Obadiah Stane played a supportive role.
Ultimately, frantic rewrites assaulted the original script for Iron Man as filming came down to the wire, eliminating Crimson Dynamo. Still, his alter ego, Anton Vanko, did make an appearance in Iron Man 2 as Whiplash's father. The red Russian also has made an appearance in several video game spin-offs of the Iron Man trilogy, giving the character a relatively healthy legacy in the MCU.
6 The Vulture Almost Introduced In The Amazing Spider-Man Sinister Six Spin-Off Close Micheal Keaton's Adrian Toomes made for an excellent starter villain for Spider-Man to tackle in his first MCU solo film, Spider-Man: Homecoming. His dry sense of humor, business-first attitude, and tactical combat style made a menace out of a winged wrongdoer that is undeniably goofy on paper. But The Vulture nearly appeared much earlier on the big screen, albeit not in an MCU movie.
Teased heavily in Andrew Garfield's The Amazing Spiderman 2, there was a time when Sony was geared up to release a Sinister Six film featuring six of Spider-Man's most iconic villains teaming up against the web-slinger. Vulture's wings even made an appearance towards the end of the film. However, the poor critical reception of the film stopped Garfield's career as Spider-Man in its tracks, and along with it, the first planned appearance of The Vulture in live-action.
5 Mysterio Almost Introduced In Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 Close The second primary Spider-Man antagonist to take center stage in the MCU, Mysterio was a disgruntled former employee of Tony Stark who channeled his ego through advanced holographic technology. Jake Gyllenhall's performance as Quentin Beck was one of the best parts of Spider-Man: Far From Home, even irrevocably damaging Spider-Man's life in his defeat by revealing his secret identity. However, Sam Raimi's planned fourth Spider-Man film also toyed with the idea of including the master of illusion.
Spider-Man 4 was very close to happening, only being scrapped when director Sam Raimi refused to give in to excessive studio meddling. Among the villains considered for an appearance, Mysterio was one of the hottest contenders, set to be played by Bruce Campbell. As a close friend of and seasoned performer for Raimi, Campbell's performance as a villain might've been worth not seeing Mysterio show up in the MCU later on.
4 The Mandarin Almost Introduced In Iron Man Close Between Ezekiel Stane and Crimson Dynamo, many of Iron Man's historic villains have essentially been evil versions of himself. But Tony Stark had also been known to frequently clash with magical forces in the comics, not the least of which being The Mandarin. Wielding the ten rings of power, The Mandarin was originally one of Iron Man's most iconic rivals and, as such, was originally meant to be the main villain in 2008's Iron Man.
With a storm of re-writes and a looming studio deadline with all the pressure in the world, director Jon Favreau ultimately opted to ax The Mandarin in favor of Iron Monger. The early inclusion of magical forces in the MCU's first film might've been simply too much for brand-new audiences to swallow so early on. Eventually, The Mandarin got his chance to shine in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, facing off against his son instead.
3 The Leader Almost Introduced In Ang Lee's Hulk

As the rights to a solo Hulk film have long been mired in legal difficulties, many of his villains have been given few chances to shine in the MCU. One of his most prolific opponents, The Leader has missed out in both of The Hulk's solo films. In the comics, Samuel Sterns is exposed to the same Gamma Radiation that created the Hulk. Enhancing his brains rather than his brawn, the leader becomes a megalomaniac, using his superhuman intelligence and telekinetic abilities for dreams of world domination.
The Leader will be joined by two other notable Hulk-adjacent characters in Captain America: Brave New World - Betty Ross and Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross.
In both Ang Lee's Hulk in 2003 and 2008's The Incredible Hulk starring Edward Norton, The Leader had just missed his shot at being a primary antagonist. In the former, he was cut from the original script, and in the latter, Samuel Sterns origin as The Leader is teased, but never paid off. Hopefully, The Leader can finally make an MCU appearance in an upcoming film after being stuck in two different scrapped Hulk sequels.
2 Kraven The Hunter Almost Introduced In Black Panther

Known and feared as the world's deadliest hunter in the Marvel comics, Kraven is known for being a relentless foe of Spider-Man. Alongside fellow Spider-Man villains Venom and Morbius, Kraven is slated to get his own solo film as part of Sony's own Spider-Man Universe. Before the film was announced, however, Kraven was in talks for Black Panther as part of Ryan Coogler's early ideation for the film, keen to include the hero-hunter in his depiction of Wakanda.
Unfortunately, the rights to Kraven were solely in the hands of Sony, preventing Coogler from executing his vision for the character. Despite this, the MCU did allude to Kraven among the silhouettes that appear from across the multiverse towards the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Kraven the Hunter's future appearance in the MCU isn't impossible, given Sony's more relaxed grip on its IP in the present day.
1 MODOK Almost Introduced In The Unmade Iron Man (1996) Close One of Marvel comic's most strange-looking villains, MODOK is a staple opponent of the Avengers and frequently depicted as the leader of Advanced Idea Mechanics, an organization of engineers with flexible morals. MODOK is a giant floating head embedded within a cybernetic body, supplementing his intelligence with a vast array of weaponry. Before his MCU debut in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, MODOK was considered as a Marvel villain for the screen much earlier.
Long before Jon Favreau was tasked with creating the foundation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a different script for Iron Man was written in 1996. Commissioned by Tom Cruise, who wanted to play Tony Stark, this script was co-written by Stan Lee and featured MODOK as its primary villain. The Marvel Cinematic Universe was almost launched 30 years earlier off the back of the strange and effects-heavy villain, a bold character to gamble the first film in the franchise with.