Angelina Jolie is poised to take a comic book turn, joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in what may be a stunning way when Eternals hits theaters. While this will be her first superhero role (not including Lara Croft), it appears she has been approached for a similar role before. Angelina Jolie said in an interview with Empire (via ComicBook.com and @CreamorScream) that she rejected a major role in another franchise.

Eternals, the forthcoming film from Marvel Studios, will reveal a whole new squad of superheroes that have lived on Earth for thousands of years. The film is directed by Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao and has a star-studded cast, including Angelina Jolie as one of the celestials, Thena.

In a recent interview with Empire, Jolie discussed her Eternals casting and stated that she previously rejected a well-known superhero role. “Out of respect” for the person who was eventually selected, the actress refrained from specifying which movie or character it was.

As you can expect, the internet was quickly flooded with conjecture about who it may have been, with insider Daniel Richtman saying it was none other than Diana Prince. While that isn’t impossible given the amount of time Wonder Woman spent in development hell, it was almost likely not the DCEU version of the character played by Gal Gadot.

Angelina said it was a “famous” role, but she conceded that the comic book game wasn’t where she intended to employ her acting skills at the time. Obviously, with so many characters in many franchises, it’s difficult to pinpoint which section Angelina Jolie is referring to here. There are several alternatives. But it’s fascinating to see why she chose Thena in Eternals. She stated in the interview that she “felt like something else was happening in this film.”

As Angelina Jolie admits in the interview, she wasn’t very intrigued because superhero and sci-fi films aren’t her favorite genres. What she liked best about Eternals was that it was a character-driven story. Jolie was also drawn to the task of bringing these little-known Marvel characters to life, which mainstream audiences aren’t yet familiar with. Even better, she’d be sharing the experience with a cast of other outstanding performers who were all up against the same challenge.

She said, “…it was very character-driven… These guys aren’t Spider-Man or Captain America or the Hulk. A lot of hardcore fans won’t know who the Eternals are. Introducing them all at once, that isn’t easy.”

Salma Hayek, who plays Ajak in the film, recently commented about her part and expressed astonishment at landing a role in the superhero film. According to People, Hayek stated in an interview with AARP, “I was shocked to get that role in my 50s. I felt a sense of gratitude and excitement, not only for this but for what it meant about the possibilities for the future.”

Charlize Theron also revealed that she was shocked and enraged when she thought she’d been offered the role of the title heroine, only to find out that she was being considered for Diana’s mother Hippolyta instead, despite the fact that the Mad Max: Fury Road star is only five weeks younger than Jolie.

Angelina Jolie appears to have a reduced role in this debut film, with the core plot initially focusing on Richard Madden’s Ikaris and Gemma Chan’s Sersi. As Jolie points out, there are a lot of new people to get to know here, and the Eternals have a vast history on Earth (and in the Cosmos) that has to be explained. There is a lot to cover, and it appears that this first picture only sets the stage for a far broader struggle that will wrap itself around the saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Director Chloe Zhao’s film may be one of the most beautiful yet, based on the initial trailers, a genuinely lovely first look at a collection of individuals that come in various shapes and sizes and are endowed with a variety of talents.