Eminem Almost Starred In One Of 2008's Most Ambitious Sci-Fi Movies

The history of 2008 sci-fi misfire "Jumper," from "Edge of Tomorrow" and "The Bourne Identity" director Doug Liman, is one littered with shouldas, wouldas, and even a few couldas in its history, particularly regarding its casting. The film saw Hayden Christensen and Jamie Bell lead the way as a pair of heroes with the ability to teleport while an ancient order of hunters is led by Samuel L. Jackson. It was even teed up for a sequel that never came to pass. Speaking to MTV News (via Today), though, Liman recalled that legendary rapper Eminem was approached for a role before Christensen got the call to jump on over to the project.

 "We did have a meeting. We did have conversations with Eminem," recalled Liman, who hinted it was more of a studio suggestion than someone he was actually seeking out. "At that point, I had already met Hayden and had fallen in love with Hayden," Liman explained. "It was one of those things where the studio, with all things being equal, would rather put a bigger name in the movie (and wanted Eminem). At some point, I just put my foot down and said, 'I love Hayden.'" That's not to say the rap star hadn't already revealed he had the acting chops after delivering an impressive performance in the semi-autobigraphical "8 Mile," but, unfortunately, he wasn't going to follow it up with "Jumper." It wouldn't be the first and last project he came close to joining, either.

Had Christensen not been so high on Liman's wanted list for "Jumper," the director made it clear he could've handled anyone that ended up in Christensen's role, David Rice, even if that meant Marshall Mathers. "If I've proven anything to myself, it's that I can tailor a role to an actor... develop the role... and make it extremely specific to them," Liman explained. "So as long as the person has acting chops, I'm open to talking to almost anybody for almost any role."

"Jumper" wouldn't end up being the only film Eminem passed on or was considered for. Over the years, Mathers was approached for some very interesting movies, including "The Fast and the Furious," taking the role in "Elysium" before Matt Damon did, and even the titular Road Warrior of "Mad Max: Fury Road" before Tom Hardy took the lead. Another film he had been involved with for a lengthy amount of time until the last minute was hard-hitting boxing drama, "Southpaw," which he stayed onboard of as an executive producer before Jake Gyllenhaal replaced him. Since then, we've had to settle for a few cameos here and there in the likes of Adam Sandler's "Funny People" and, most recently, "Happy Gilmore 2." Perhaps, though, had he been given a better chance at "Jumper," Eminem could've turned the overlooked sci-fi movie into the franchise it had every possibility to be.