 According to screenwriter William Goldman (qv), his screenplay  originally was entitled "The Sundance Kid and Butch Cassidy." Both  Steve McQueen (I) (qv) and Paul Newman (I) (qv) read the script  at approximately the same time, and agreed to do it, with McQueen  playing the Sundance Kid. When McQueen dropped out, the names  reversed in the title, as Newman was a superstar.