Matt Damon as Bond? First choices for roles intriguing

Matt Damon as James Bond? Will Smith as Captain America? Sean Connery as Obi-Wan Kenobi? Or Gandalf? Nicolas Cage as Superman? Leonardo DiCaprio as Spider-Man? Or Heath Ledger?

They all could have happened if things had gone as originally planned.

For example, Damon was among the actors under consideration to be the next 007 when producers and the studio were unsure whether they were going to radically re-imagine the concept.

Some thought went into an American Bond, and Damon's performance in "The Bourne Identity" (2002) was enough to garner him some consideration for the role.

This was, of course, before Universal Pictures decided to turn the Bourne character and concepts into a franchise.

Smith was briefly discussed as a possible contender to play the Marvel Comics character Captain America. It was an interesting, if somewhat controversial choice.

Filmmaker Joe Johnston and Marvel Studios still have yet to decide who will don the character's stars-and-stripes costume. (Supposed contenders at one time included Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. Damon still appears to be in the running for the part.)

As for Connery, he rejected the "Star Wars" role that eventually went to Alec Guinness — in favor of appearing in "Zardoz," the poorly received, 1974 science-fiction thriller.

He later took the role of Allan Quatermain in the even-sketchier "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" (2003). He could have played author J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved wizard character.

So Connery either needs to fire his agent or let someone else choose his projects for him.

And as ridiculous as it may sound, Cage was the person director Tim Burton wanted to play Superman, when he was going to make a movie based on the DC Comics character.

James Cameron wanted to make a Spider-Man movie back in the late '80s/early '90s. And his eventual "Titanic" star, DiCaprio, was his web-head of choice.

When that movie project was revived, Sony Pictures officials targeted Ledger, who was a hot commodity, thanks to both "10 Things I Hate About You" (1999) and "A Knight's Tale" (2001).

SPEAKING OF SPIDER-MAN.

There's already been a lot of speculation as to which actor will replace Tobey Maguire now that he and director Sam Raimi, and Sony Pictures officials, have decided to go their separate ways.

Also, there's some question about whether the studio wants to reboot the concept. One idea is to concentrate on a teenage version of the character, as in "Ultimate Spider-Man" monthly comic or Disney Toon Channel's "The Spectacular Spider-Man" series.

Entertainment Weekly writers speculated that they're also mulling over a grim-and-gritty approach. That's based on the fact that screenwriter James Vanderbilt teamed with director David Fincher for the serial killer thriller "Zodiac."

Fincher is apparently one of a handful of filmmakers under consideration to direct the new movie. However, Marc Webb, of "(500) Days of Summer" fame, is emerging as a favorite.

And if Webb is selected, a decent replacement for Maguire could emerge — "Summer's" leading man, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who can do angsty and sarcastic well.

e-mail: jeff@desnews.com