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Lady Gaga won her first Oscar playing up-and-coming singer/songwriter Ally Maine alongside Bradley Cooper in 2018′s A Star is Born. However, she wasn’t the only pop icon considered for the role.

A Star is Born signified the first time that Mother Monster took the lead in a blockbuster. She landed a nomination for Best Actress at the 2019 Oscars and snagged the award for Best Original Song at the ceremony.

Years later, her award-winning duet with Bradley “Shallow” is still generating headlines.

While she’s iconic in the role, some fans might not be aware that A Star is Born is a movie that had already been made three times before Lady Gaga was cast. The first version of the movie was released in 1937 and starred Janet Gaynor; the second came out in 1954 with Judy Garland in the lead. Barbra Streisand took center stage in the version of the movie released in 1976.

A fourth version of A Star is Born had been in the works for years with various talent associated with it by the time that Gaga was cast. That included four other female vocalists who could have landed the starring role. One of them was even attached to the movie at least twice, with reports suggesting that she wasn’t selected because the studio couldn’t afford her asking price.

Who were they and what happened that led to them being overlooked? We did all the digging!

Scroll through all of the musical acts that were considered for Lady Gaga’s part in A Star Is Born…

Gal Gadot had already established herself in the action world with her portrayal of Gisele Yashar in the Fast & Furious franchise when she became Wonder Woman, the leading lady of the DCEU.

The actress joined the DC Comics franchise alongside Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill and was lauded as one of the brightest lights for her portrayal of Diana Prince in 2016′s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Since then, Gal has reprised the role in several projects, including two solo movies. There have been ongoing questions about her future in the franchise.

She’s synonymous with the character, but Gal had to audition for it and faced some stiff competition.

In fact, we can say for a fact that she faced off against at least three other actresses to land the part. Of the three, two of them have opened up about their experience auditioning. One of them even explained why they knew that they “never” had a chance to land it.

With there being so much interest in Gal‘s future in the franchise, we decided to do some research into who else might have been wielding the Lasso of Truth.

Scroll through the slideshow to see who else was up to play Wonder Woman in the DCEU…

Chris Evans was so well cast as Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that it seems like the role was meant for him. However, he faced some stiff competition for a chance to play the leader of the Avengers.

The actor brought Steve Rogers to life on the big screen starting in 2011 with Captain America: The First Avenger. He seemingly bowed out almost a decade later with Avengers: Endgame.

But was that really the end for him? Chris addressed his future within the franchise during a new interview, revealing if he was really done with the role or if there was a possible return in his future.

Additionally, while he is now synonymous with the part, Chris initially turned it down. Who might have picked up the shield if he never agreed to lead the Avengers? We did some digging and rounded up 10 other actors who auditioned for the opportunity.

Interestingly, some of them wound up acting alongside Chris in the MCU. Others joined the franchise after he left. Some even had the chance to play roles in mega-successful franchises, and one of them later revealed that they had to apologize to Marvel after their audition!

Scroll through the slideshow to see who else could have played Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe…

Harry Potter and Twilight were star-making experiences for Daniel Radcliffe and Robert Pattinson. Both blockbusters also signify near misses for one actor who auditioned for the chance to play Harry Potter and Edward Cullen.

Daniel was only 11 years old when he portrayed the beloved boy wizard alongside Emma Watson and Rupert Grint in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in 2000.

Eight years later, Robert was 22 when he was cast as the glittering vampire lead alongside Kristen Stewart in the first Twilight movie.

The franchises featured large and talented casts, and there’s a common thread between them – an actor who landed supporting roles in both after auditioning for the lead. He opened up about the experience in an interview.

Read more about the actor who was considered to play both Harry Potter and Edward Cullen…

Chris Hemsworth was so well cast as Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe that he was seemingly born into the role. However, he faced some stiff competition for a chance to play the beloved god of thunder.

The actor began playing the Norse god in 2011′s Thor and has suited up multiple times since then. The last time he yielded his iconic hammer was in 2022′s Thor: Love and Thunder, which saw him reunite with original franchise star Natalie Portman.

While he quite simple is Thor now, he actually competed with 9 other actors to land the role.

Interestingly, one of them even wound up making his own MCU debut alongside Chris in Thor. Others have recalled suiting up for auditions. Chris himself admitted that he thought he knew was going to get the part at one time, and it was not himself.

Scroll through the slideshow to see who else could have played Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe…

Robert Pattinson had already established himself as an emerging talent in the young adult sphere with his portrayal of Cedric Diggory in the Harry Potter franchise, but landing the role of Edward Cullen in Twilight cemented him as a mega-star.

He played the lead, sparkling vampire in the blockbuster adaptations of author Stephenie Meyer‘s beloved novels. However, we have since learned that he faced some stiff competition to book his starring role alongside Kristen Stewart.

Thousands of actors auditioned for the role, but a much smaller list of frontrunners and A-listers who were considered has been revealed. The list includes a Schitt’s Creek star, several actors who booked other roles in Twilight and someone who admitted that they later regretted their audition.

It also includes Stephenie‘s first choice for Edward, who only learned that he was in the running years after the fact!

Who all was up for the star-making role? We pulled together a handy list and everything the actors have said about their auditions.

Scroll through the slideshow to see all of Robert Pattinson’s biggest competition for the role of Edward Cullen in Twilight…

Christian Bale‘s performance as Batman in Christopher Nolan‘s Dark Knight trilogy is critically acclaimed.

However, in the last few months we learned that he faced some competition from two other actors before he landed the role. Interestingly, those two stars are now sharing the screen in Oppenheimer – a new movie that is also from Christopher.

In a series of recent interviews, the acclaimed director opened up about the auditions, revealing how far they got and why they weren’t cast as the caped crusader.

Scroll through to find out who we recently learned was in the running to play Christian Bale in Batman Begins…