What makes the MCU work, at its best, are the characters. These characters, from bombastic Thor to heroic Captain America, are brought to life by talented actors who have been playing these characters for years. These actors have worked long enough in this franchise that often their interpretations of the characters become influential in their own right.
Despite this, it’s often easy to wonder how things might have been different. On the other side of the fence is the DCEU, with a roster of equally talented actors to its name. What new directions or opportunities could be unlocked by changing the casting of MCU icons with DCEU stars? What happens when we cast DCEU actors to replace Marvel actors?
Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) – Pedro Pascal
Jeremy Renner captures the anguish of a Clint Barton grieving for his family excellently. However, Barton has always been sidelined as a ‘less interesting’ Avenger and Renner doesn’t do as much as could be done to maximize the time he is given.
One actor capable of doing a lot with very little to work with is Pedro Pascal, who played the lead role as the Mandalorian. As the bounty hunter in that Disney+ show, he had to make his character a likable badass through Din Djarin’s restrained and quiet demeanor while almost never showing his face. We also know Pascal has a talent for playing likable characters, as his time as Oberyn Martell shows his ability to play a brash, headstrong character who would be in line with a more comic-accurate Clint Barton. His DCEU role as Maxwell Lord in Wonder Woman 1984 also demonstrates his ability to play a compelling character regardless of the movie he’s in.
Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Strange) – Ewan McGregor
Benedict Cumberbatch gave us an intriguing take on the character of Doctor Strange. In his performances, Cumberbatch emphasizes the aloof and sometimes even arrogant nature of the Sorceror Supreme, though he is also skilled at displaying Strange’s character growth when he comes to a humbling realization.
Speaking of British actors who stared in less well-received prequels of an iconic trilogy, Ewan McGregor, who played Roman Sionis in the DCEU’s Birds of Prey, would make an interesting alternative casting choice. As the actor who played Obi-Wan Kenobi, he would have experience with acting as a mystic. Obi-Wan’s snarky manner would also be very suitable for the Sorceror Supreme. His role as Roman Sionis proves he can do an American accent with little trouble.
Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch) – Daniela Melchior
Scarlet Witch is a very hard role to play. The comics have struggled between Scarlet Witch as a hero and her antihero tendencies. Elizabeth Olsen does her best to portray Wanda, especially in the acclaimed series Wandavision, with this nuance in mind. Olsen does well to portray the anti-hero that Wanda becomes, and the villain she starts out as.
Another actress who portrayed an anti-hero was Daniela Melchior, who played Rat Catcher II in the DCEU’s The Suicide Squad. Rat Catcher II is a successfully endearing character in no small part because of the performance of Daniela Melchior, who helps sell her character throughout. Perhaps a more wide-eyed and hopeful Wanda would have made for a different direction for the character, and all the more shocking when she does dip into villainous territory.
Mark Ruffalo and Edward Norton (Bruce Banner) – Jesse Eisenberg
Mark Ruffalo is an excellent Bruce Banner, able to convey how tormented Banner is by the Hulk by showing him as a jaded and wounded man. Norton is similarly effective in his time in the role. They portray a Bruce who is well acquainted with his condition and has had to live with it for years. Ruffalo’s performance works especially well when he comes to be at peace with the Hulk.
Though he is a character who has been a ‘superhero’ in the comics, ultimately the Hulk’s storyline in the comics is almost always a sort of horror story. His appearance in the original is reminiscent of Frankenstein and some of the most iconic Horror comics from Marvel have been Hulk-focused, like the Immortal Hulk. The fact that the MCU and Mark Ruffalo took the Hulk in a different direction is interesting but is very different from the Hulk in the comics.