The MCU is no stranger to actors getting recast in a completely new role. Alfre Woodard appeared in Captain America: Civil War in a pivotal scene despite playing Mariah Dillard in Luke Cage. Kenneth Choi was part of Cap’s Howling Commandos in Captain America: The First Avenger and later showed up as Jim Morita’s grandson and Peter’s principal in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Mahershala Ali played Cottonmouth in Luke Cage and will play Blade in the films. Just last week it was revealed that Gemma Chan, who played Minn-erva in Captain Marvel, is in talks to join the Eternals in a reportedly new role.

With a growing list of actors doubling down on more than one MCU role, we picked ones that we’d love to see happen down the road.


Karl Urban as Wolverine

I felt like Urban was a bit wasted in his small role as Skurge in Thor: Ragnarok, but he has so much more potential as a more permanent fixture of this universe. This is probably one of the most common casting choices in the fandom at the moment, but it’s a damn good one. He has the looks, the charisma, and acting chops to fit the role. In fact, he’s played two characters already that share similar dynamics to Wolverine. Namely being ruthless in their confrontations, but also basically mentoring and looking out for a colleague far younger and less experienced than themselves. As he does in Dredd and the now widely popular Amazon Original series, The Boys.

What also helps set him apart from Hugh Jackman is that Karl Urban isn’t “classically” handsome. Not a knock against him, but he looks a lot rougher than Jackman, a man once named the sexiest man alive by People Magazine. The only thing holding him back for me personally is his height, being over six feet tall. But, this is Hollywood and they could easily make him shorter on camera to more closely match Wolverine in the comics, further setting him apart from Jackman’s interpretation of the character. – Pierre Chanliau, Editor


Wilson Bethel as Cyclops

From a long list of former MCU actors both in the movies and TV, I’d choose Wilson Bethel as Cyclops. Given that he had a memorable performance as Bullseye from season 3 of Daredevil on Netflix, fans definitely want to see more of Bethel in the MCU. We’ve already seen him play a complex and disturbing character from the show and it will be fun to see him on the side of the good guys this time around. One fun fact is that Bethel was almost cast as the MCU’s Captain America. He may have lost the chance of becoming the leader of the Avengers, it would seem appropriate for him to don the visor and be the leader of the X-Men. – Aeron Eclarinal, News Writer


Stanley Tucci as Norman Osborn

There are definitely quite a few actors that could do a great job with the role of Norman Osborn, but I’d be very curious to see Stanley Tucci from Captain America: The First Avenger take on the megalomaniac. Tucci typically plays likable characters which I think is an incredibly important part of portraying Norman Osborn. He needs to be charismatic and trusting to show why so many people have faith in him. But at the same time, we need to see an unhinged and terrifying monster which we know from his performance in The Lovely Bones that he’s more than capable of. Tucci may not be everyone’s first choice, but I think he would bring something interesting and unique to the role. – Alex Lurie, Feature Writer


Andy Serkis as Any CGI Villain

If there is an actor that could return in any way possible, it would be Andy Serkis. He gave us an iconic villain performance with Ulysses Klaue who sadly was killed off to early in the MCU history. Still, an actor like Serkis who is famous for playing CGI characters like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings or Snoke in the latest Star Wars Films could be brought back for almost any other-worldly character. There are many possible roles for him to fill and maybe even to portray an already existing character in the MCU, as we have yet to see a fully formed Dormammu. We briefly saw his face in Doctor Strange’s first outing and was even portrayed by the actor himself. He had nothing to base his appearance and voice on, so it made sense for him to copy the one human he confronted directly. Yet, comic-fans will know he has many different forms throughout the comics.

As he starts to explore more of the multiverse, he may change his appearance and voice to make it his own. He had many different interpretations over the years, so there is a lot of potential for Serkis to give such a CGI character the same depth he did for Caeser in the Planet of the Apes franchise. He also has proven to have a wide variety of expressions so he may be a perfect candidate to give M.O.D.O.K. the live-action love he deserves. If they already have Serkis on speed dial, it would be a shame to not make more use of his abilities as an actor. – Joseph Aberl, Editor


Natalie Dormer as Enchantress

Of all the MCU actors that have been either killed off or underused, almost none have been more forgotten than Natalie Dormer. Playing a US Army private and a momentary love interest for the star-spangled man with a plan, she had no more than a couple of minutes of screen time in Captain America: The First Avenger before Peggy Carter interrupted her smooch with the newly world famous, pre-vibranium-shield-wielding Captain Rogers. After her TV work on Game of Thrones, The Tudors, and Elementary, Dormer has proven to be excellent at playing both cunning and ruthless, which would make her a great choice to play the classic Thor villain, Enchantress!

A formidable sorceress with incredible powers, including the ability to control minds, the Enchantress would be a very worthy next opponent for the God of Thunder after his family feud with Cate Blanchett’s Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. We’d even get to see her use her natural British accent too! With only 2 female villains in the first 23 MCU movies to date, it’s time for Marvel to bring Natalie Dormer back to wreak some havoc on the Asgardians! – Richard Nebens, News Writer


Idris Elba as Galactus

Marvel really didn’t know how much of a star Idris Elba was going to be when he was cast almost a decade ago for the first Thor film. Elba’s biggest role to his name at the time of his cast was The Wire and his appearances in Hollywood blockbusters had yet to happen. His character Heimdall has never been much of a presence in the larger narrative of the comics and even throughout his five MCU appearances, Heimdall’s role is meager, to say the least. When he was killed off in the first 10 minutes of Avengers: Infinity War, I kind of felt bad for him. The MCU finally hits its stride with Phase 3 and Idris gets written off before getting the most out of it.

So with his newfound success as one of Hollywood’s top leading stars, I think its time to bring him back to the MCU, not as another forgettable character but as one of Marvel’s biggest yet, Galactus. Playing the Devourer of Worlds is no easy feat to bring to life and requires someone with total gravitas and an immense on-screen presence. Idris has proven his ability to evoke subdued intensity on-screen time and time again and he’d be a fantastic fit for Galactus. Heck, with an actual actor playing a cosmic force of nature, we can also finally bring Galactus’ human form Galan to life with Idris. – Charles Villanueva, Editor-in-Chief


Ben Kinglsey as Professor X

My pick for an MCU recast would have to be Ben Kingsley. Despite delivering a solid performance, such a magnanimous actor felt wasted in the role of Trevor Slattery. I may be one of those people who’ll defend Iron Man 3 to the end of the world, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to see Kingsley in a bigger role. If he ever comes back, who wouldn’t love to see Ben Kingsley as an X-Man? His on-screen presence would certainly make Charles a magnetic character, one that may not be as lawful good as Patrick Stewart, but definitely far more complex and full of nuances. An untrustworthy Xavier is a crazy spin on the character, and the Fox movies have merely hinted at it with James McAvoy’s latest performances. Marvel Studios could do the opposite of what everyone expects and deliver a different Professor X. Or he could lend his awesome voice to a CGI character, which opens many possibilities for the cosmic side of the MCU. The fact is, Kingsley’s too big not to have a greater role to play in this universe. – Tiago Fiszbejn, News Writer


Lee Pace as Mister Fantastic

My choice would be Lee Pace, who played Ronan the Accuser in 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, and again in Captain Marvel earlier this year. While the latter did tease that Ronan might return in a potential Captain Marvel sequel, such a return would again have to be a prequel – and coupled with the fact Gemma Chan’s Minn-Erva wasn’t killed off yet she’s joining the Eternals – I’m bending the rules a little to suggest I think Pace would make a great Reed Richards in Marvel’s upcoming Fantastic Four reboot (or even Doom, if we’re going out-of-left-field).

Pace is a charismatic and engaging actor – he can play both serious and comedic well, as evidenced by his fantastic work on Halt and Catch Fire (if you’re on the fence this show will change your mind) and his winning an Emmy for his role in ABC’s comedy series Pushing Daisies. Pace was actually on Marvel’s radar for a leading man as Star-Lord, before Chris Pratt eventually got the part. I think Pace would have the potential to make a great Mister Fantastic and would be able to show off his talents far more than he was (is?) able to as Ronan. Plus, only his suit would have to be blue – so even if Ronan did come back, no big deal, right? – Alex Josiah, News Writer