Justin Timberlake Was The First Choice To Play Glee Teacher Will Schuester

If there’s one word that defines Glee even among self-professed Gleeks, it’s “chaos,” and the hit 2010s series would’ve only been more chaotic if this casting dream had come true. On the premiere episode of Glee stars Kevin McHale and Jenna Ushkowitz’s Glee rewatch podcast — And That’s What You REALLY Missed — co-creator Ryan Murphy revealed that the role of McKinley High’s Spanish teacher and New Directions leader Will Schuester was actually meant for Justin Timberlake.

“When we were writing the pilot, I’ve never really talked about this, that pilot was written for Justin Timberlake,” he revealed. “Mr. Schue was written for Justin.” The interview was then cut off, leaving the possibility that Murphy may expand on his thought process on the next episode. The part eventually went to Broadway star Matthew Morrison, who was likely the correct choice given how he already had history with some of the cast, most notably Lea Michele.

The *NSYNC alum has never spoken about Glee, so it’s not known if he ever seriously considered taking the role. Given that Timberlake reportedly denied permission for his music to be used or performed on Glee, he may not have been a big fan. However, that didn’t stop the cast from wanting him to guest star on the landmark Super Bowl episode. “I think they are saving Justin Timberlake for the Super Bowl episode,” Michele told Billboard in 2010. “They have to be, because he is so perfect for our show. He has to be on it! When I met Jessica Biel, like a loser, I asked her to tell Justin to come on our show! She was a little taken aback and said, “Um, OK. I’ll tell him.”

Aside from almost being played by a different actor, Mr. Schuester also nearly went on a more sinister journey on the show (yes, even darker than his wife faking a pregnancy). On the podcast, Murphy explained that he had been thinking about making a musical series before he was handed a very early Glee script at the gym from writer Ian Brennan, who ended up becoming Murphy’s co-creator. The only problem was that Brennan’s screenplay was just a little too dark.

“Mr. Schue, I believe, was a crystal meth addict in Ian’s script,” he explained, adding that he was also “touching” the students inappropriately. “[It was] the NC-17 version of show choir with a weird protagonist who was unraveling … I was like, ‘I just need to do something optimistic.’” And thus, Glee as we know it was born.