A quirky actor who earned fame and accolades for serving as Tim Burton's muse in films like "Ed Wood" and "Edward Scissorhands" before moving on to '90s indie movie glory in fare like "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," Johnny Depp became a mega-star in the 2000s for his work as Captain Jack Sparrow in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" blockbusters. Already a reliable and bankable member of the Disney family from that franchise and the live-action "Alice in Wonderland" movies, the company's affiliated Marvel Studios really wanted Depp to join another big brand by playing Doctor Strange in the burgeoning Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

According to Latino Review (via Variety), Marvel entered preliminary talks with Depp about the role in 2014. Variety note that Depp was very busy at the time, scheduled to film another "Pirates" movie and the "Alice in Wonderland" sequel, which meant shooting "Doctor Strange" would come too far down the road for Marvel's liking. For whatever reason, Depp didn't get the gig.