Can Actors Play More Than One Character In The Marvel Cinematic Universe?
When Chris Evans was sought after and eventually won the role of Steve Rogers inCaptain America: The First Avengers, some fans were a little bent out of shape about that because the actor had already played the Human Torch in 20th Century Fox’sFantastic Four. To some, it just seemed like overkill to have the same actor play two different Marvel superheroes.
However, as we’ve seen, theMarvel cinematic universeis far removed from what 20th Century Fox did withFantastic Fouror what Sony Pictures did withSpider-Man. And in the end, Chris Evans has turned out to one of the best parts of the Marvel cinematic universe, and easily one of the favorite Avengers on the team. So it all worked out.
But now that the Marvel cinematic universe has been established, is there a chance that we could see actors playing two Marvel characters in that comic book world?Thor: The Dark WorldstarZachary Levireveals that he has spoken toKevin Feigeabout that very question, and the answer might surprise you.
Making the publicity rounds forHeroes Rebornon NBC (one of the new fall 2015 TV shows we’re excited to see), Levi spoke withDen of Geekabout whether or not he’ll be returning as Fandral forThor: Ragnarok, and he doesn’t know at this point:
“I have no idea. They have not told me anything. I hope so. I think that’d be pretty fun to get the gang back together, the Warriors Three. But there’s a reason why the movie’s calledThorand notThe Warriors Three. They’ve got to do what’s right forThor.
I think they’re shooting for next summer so it really just depends on when in the summer. I know when they’re going to shoot, only because, like everyone knows, when the film’s actual releasing because Marvel’s already slotted all that out which I think is again the following November which is what the lastThorwas. So they’ve got to shoot it next Summer. I don’t know. It’d be a lot of fun but there’s also a lot of other Marvel roles that I’d love to play one day. If I never get to play Fandral again, I got to do it once and it was a great group to work with.”
And this is where the interviewer followed up by clarifying whether or not Levi playing Fandral precludes him from playing any other characters in the Marvel cinematic universe. Levi had the exact same question when he was considering taking the role:
“I had a very interesting talk with Kevin Feige early on about it all and he said, “Look, it doesn’t preclude you from playing another Marvel character.” Chris Evans was The Human Torch and Captain America. Ray Stevenson was The Punisher and Volstagg. I did point out to him, “In fairness, neither Fantastic Four nor The Punisher was actually a Marvel movie. You were a part of it but they were produced by other studios.” But he said, “Look, I totally understand that but don’t worry about it.” I don’t know, if there’s a right role that comes along and they want me to play it, I’d love to.”
I’m glad Levi pointed out the difference between a role inFantastic FourandThe Punisher: War Zoneand a role in the Marvel cinematic universe, because it does feel like it wouldn’t be as easy today to have an actor take on a completely different role having already been established as another character in the same comic book movie world.
However, we’ve actually already seen two instances of an actor playing two different characters in the Marvel cinematic universe. One of those instances made sense story-wise while the other is merely a casting decision.
Paul Bettanywas the voice of Tony Stark’s digital butler JARVIS for threeIron Manmovies andThe Avengers. But inThe Avengers: Age of Ultron, Bettany became The Vision. This role switch made sense though since JARVIS was used to help create The Vision, so it wasn’t like having an actor take on an entirely different character in the traditional way.
The other instance features lesser known actorEnver Gjokaj, who played a young cop inThe Avengers, but went on to play Daniel Sousa in theAgent Cartertelevision series. This scenario is a little different than the one Zachary Levi is talking about since it’s not as if Gjokaj played a prominent, memorable character in the MCU beforeAgent Carter.
More than likely, the reaction from fans in the event of a scenario like this playing out will depend on the specific actor and character. After all, while some fans were in uproar about Evans playing Captain America after playing Human Torch, no one really cared about Ray Stevenson playing Volstagg after playing Frank Castle. Maybe that’s because barely anyone sawThe Punisher: War Zone, but still, those fans should at least be consistent with their discrepancies.
The good news is that this means we might get to seeGuardians of the GalaxystarVin Dieselpop up elsewhere in the Marvel cinematic universe. The actor voices Groot in the cosmic comic book movie, but he haspreviously hinted at something elsein the works with Marvel,possibly a role inInhumans, and now we know for sure it’s not out of the realm of possibility. But again, Diesel is also playing a character where he isn’tseenas the character, thus making the transition easy.
Anyway, there’s a large pool of talent out there when it comes to casting new Marvel characters, so we likely don’t have to worry about doubling down on actors playing two different characters for awhile. Though it’s something Kevin Feige is comfortable doing, they likely won’t go out of their way to make it happen anytime soon.
How would you feel about an actor playing two different Marvel cinematic universe characters?
