Shaquille O'Neal reveals Marvel's surprising reason for rejecting him

Shaquille O'Neal reveals Marvel rejected his Avengers ambitions, while the NBA legend eyes a movie with The Rock Photo: Reuters Shaquille O'Neal has revealed that Marvel rejected his long-standing hopes of appearing in an Avengers movie, despite his interest in joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In a recent interview with Variety, the NBA legend discussed his Hollywood ambitions while promoting his Dunkman professional dunking league. The competition features dunkers from around the world competing for a $500,000 prize, with its finals scheduled to air on TNT on Aug. 25. O'Neal, 54, said he would like to take on more action roles but has faced an unusual obstacle because of his instantly recognisable appearance and imposing size. According to the former NBA star, Hollywood executives have told him audiences would struggle to see him as characters such as a doctor because they would immediately recognise him as Shaq. The retired basketball star previously expressed interest in joining Marvel's Avengers franchise in a 2018 interview. He has now confirmed that his efforts to land a Marvel Cinematic Universe role ultimately went nowhere. O'Neal said Marvel executives told him they loved him but believed his appearance would distract audiences from the character. He recalled accepting the explanation, joking that his face was simply 'too bigtime.' The actor previously entered the superhero genre by playing the DC character Steel in the 1997 film Steel. He has also made recent appearances in Scary Movie and is set to appear in Grown Ups 3. Although his Marvel ambitions appear to have ended, O'Neal has another major Hollywood collaboration in mind. He said he wants to make a movie with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, specifically because he wants the opportunity to beat him up on screen.