Here's Why Jeremy Allen White Won't Be Doing a Marvel Movie Anytime Soon

After two seasons of a career-shifting turn on FX's critically-acclaimed series The Bear, Jeremy Allen White has found himself one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood. Next, the 32-year-old will appear on the big screen in A24's The Iron Claw alongside Zac Efron, an upcoming biographical sports drama based on the life of professional wrestler Kevin Von Erich and the Von Erich family

At this point in his trajectory, one might be quick to assume that White might soon make the jump to Marvel movies, as Disney has become known for poaching hot talent for its superhero blockbusters in recent years. As White told GQ in an interview that published this week, upon meeting Riz Ahmed—whom he starred with in Apple TV's sci-fi romance Fingernails—the first question the actor asked him was when he was going to "do a Marvel thing."

However, as White explained, he already took meeting for a superhero flick, and it went rather poorly.

"I had a meeting for a kind of Marvel-y movie, and I had an attitude. I think I played it all wrong," he said of his skepticism heading into the conversation. "'Tell me about why should I do your movie,'" he remembered asking the execs, who were evidently less than amused. "They were like, 'Fuck you,'" White recalled. "And I was like, ‘Right on.'"

"I am confused at how the pinnacle of an actor’s career has ended up in that place," he had previously told the interviewer. And while he's a bit more diplomatic now in choosing his words, he also doesn't have any regrets over the missed opportunity. "They get really good filmmakers to do those movies and obviously they get really good actors to do those movies," he added. "I played it the way I wanted to play it."

Instead, White is focused on the "$25 million drama that I think most actors want to make." And while projects like that are becoming few and far between—thanks in large part to Marvel, ironically—his new leading man status conveniently allows him the opportunity to cherry-pick those roles.

The Iron Claw opens in theaters Dec. 22; and meanwhile, The Bear also just got picked up for a third season at FX.