Long before comic-book movies became Hollywood’s dominant franchise machine, Dolly Parton nearly entered the DC universe. The country music icon was considered for the role of Selena, the witch who serves as the primary villain in the 1984 film Supergirl.
The part ultimately went to Faye Dunaway, but Parton said in interviews that she seriously considered taking it—despite reservations about both the character and the production.
In a resurfaced 1982 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Parton said she had been approached about the film and was weighing whether she wanted to spend several months shooting in London.
“They’ve got an 18-year-old girl that’s going to be Supergirl, and there’s a part of, a starring role of, a witch,” Parton said at the time.
She added that the character was “funny” and “magical,” but admitted the production’s practical demands gave her pause.
“If I do, I’ll have to go to London for three months,” she said. “So it depends on if I want to leave home that much. If I want to be a witch that bad.”
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Parton even joked about the career trajectory. “I think going from a secretary to a madame to a witch wouldn’t be bad.”
The reference was to some of her best-known film roles at the time, including 9 to 5 and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.
But Parton later made clear the problem wasn’t just the travel.
She did not want to play someone she considered purely evil. Speaking with the Chicago Tribune, Parton said she had been offered $7 million for the role but was “kind of insulted” by the character.
“I was impressed with the money,” she said, “but I said, ‘Why are you asking me to play an evil witch? Do I come across as an evil witch to you?’”
Parton explained that she preferred characters who reflected some recognizable part of her own personality. “I will not play just an evil part,” she said.
She also acknowledged that she thought of herself as an entertainer first and an actress second, and preferred roles that allowed her natural personality to come through.
“I don’t think of myself as great enough of an actress to do anything totally separate from me,” she said.
Parton also joked that she needed roles that accommodated her Southern accent. “And I think I have to play something where I have a Southern accent – either that or I’d have to be a mute.”
Selena eventually went to Dunaway, who starred opposite Helen Slater as Kara Zor-El in Supergirl.
Parton, meanwhile, continued building a film career that included Steel Magnolias and other projects more closely aligned with the warmth and humor audiences associated with her.
Still, the alternate-universe casting is hard not to imagine.
Dolly Parton.
DC villain.
Seven million dollars.
Somewhere in the multiverse, it happened.
