Shaquille O'Neal has revealed that Marvel repeatedly rejected his efforts to join the Avengers franchise, telling Variety in an exclusive interview that studio executives believe his towering, instantly recognisable physique makes him unsuitable for anything other than playing himself on screen. The retired NBA star, who played a DC superhero in 1997's "Steel", said he has spent years trying to break into the Marvel Cinematic Universe but has been consistently turned away, meaning he will not feature in December's "Avengers: Doomsday" or any future instalment.

O'Neal, 54, first spoke about the rejection in a 2018 interview, recalling that Marvel executives told him audiences would instantly clock "that's Shaq" regardless of the role, undermining any character's believability. He has since had smaller screen moments, including a cameo in this year's "Scary Movie" and an upcoming appearance in "Grown Ups 3", and now says he would instead like to star alongside Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, joking that he could easily beat him in a fight. The comments came as O'Neal promoted his "Dunkman" dunking league, whose $500,000 final airs on TNT on 25 August.