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.
Jesse Eisenberg, who played Lex Luthor in Batman v. Superman, presents an opportunity to take the Hulk and Bruce in a different direction. Eisenberg is adept at playing brainy nerds, like Zuckerberg in The Social Network, and often these characters are hopelessly out of their depth. His role in the movie The Art of Self-Defense, in which a young man gets sucked into a hardcore criminal martial arts group, shows he can use that anxiety and out-of-his-depth nature to aid the tension of a movie.
Jesse Eisenberg being relatively more fearful and less able to handle himself makes the Hulk scarier, because it presents more opportunities for the Hulk to come out at inopportune times. Jesse Eisenberg would be able to more effectively sell the all-consuming fear of the Hulk that defines the life of comic Bruce.
Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury) – Laurence Fishburne
Samuel L. Jackson is an excellent Nick Fury. When we meet him in the post-credits scene of Iron Man, we already see a grizzled Secret Agent. Nick Fury continues to be the voice of no-nonsense experience throughout the lifetime of the MCU. In many ways, Nick Fury resembles what would happen if someone like James Bond headed up his own Spy Agency in his old age.
Laurence Fishburne is the iconic actor who played Morpheus from the Maxtrix and Perry White, Superman’s Editor in the DCEU. He has the voice to play a super spy, though his influence may pull the character more into Jason Bourne than James Bond. Fishburne could pull off a lot more of the moral dubiousness of Nick Fury that comes through in the comics, which Fishburne has experience with as the Bowery King in the John Wick franchise.
Chris Hemsworth (Thor) – Henry Cavill
When trying to think of anyone else who could play the Big Three of the Avengers, it’s extraordinarily difficult. Chris Hemsworth brings so much humor to the role of Thor, especially post-Thor: Ragnarok, that it’s hard to think of anyone who could bring out the ridiculous and comic-booky nature of Thor in the same way.
That is why Henry Cavill would make a good choice because Henry Cavill’s Thor would present a different direction for Thor as a character. In an alternate universe where Marvel wanted to lean into the more serious side of Thor, they could adapt the Thor: Ragnarok comic more faithfully. The Thor: Ragnarok comic is very dark and grim, with plenty of named characters dying with Ragnarok being an endless cycle perpetuated by the enigmatic Those Who Sit Above in Shadow. This approach would help sell the more emotional beats of Thor: Love and Thunder, though we would lose out on the fun reckless Thor written by Taika Waititi.
Cavill has already proved he can do serious and dark storylines with his work in the Witcher series, the series which also proved he can pull off the required long hair for the role, and that he is capable of witty banter despite the heavy tone. Though his time as Superman is not always fondly remembered, after his success in other roles it is worth noting that he is a talented actor.
Chris Evans (Captain America) – Joel Kinnaman
Chris Evans is the perfect Steve Rogers and Captain America. His performance as Steve shows the First Avenger’s humble origins, his moral certainty, and his adjustment to the modern times with enough Charisma to make the character endearing but leaving room for him to be human and relatable. The writing for the character by the Russo brothers is a large part of the character’s appeal, but Evan’s performance as the American golden boy is impossible to replace.
Still, if we had to replace Evans, who would we choose? If we have to choose from the roster of the DCEU, Joel Kinnaman has the build and the looks for Captain America, and we see him play a role in which he chooses the moral right choice over blind loyalty to his country in The Suicide Squad. His experience and skill as Rick Flag in the Suicide Squad would also be helpful if the MCU went down a darker path with Captain America, having him question the sort of shady things the US government has done and what that means for a symbol like Captain America.
Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man) – Joe Manganiello
Robert Downey Jr.’s time as Iron Man has been, in a word, defining. He defined the character of Tony Stark and that character defined the MCU. There are few times a character is so changed by the person playing them and yet so faithfully captured. Robert Downey Jr. managed to portray Stark at his worst, when he allows his demons to consume him, and at his best, during his noble sacrifice at the end of Endgame.
One actor who could play a decent Iron Man is Joe Manganiello, who played Deathstroke in the DCEU. Manganiello has the look to portray a younger different Tony Stark. He looks similar to 1980s depictions of the character if he shaved to get the iconic Stark ‘Stache. If they ever make an alternate universe in the 1980s Joe Manganiello would make a good young tech mogul Tony Stark. He also has the charisma to pull off Stark, who is supposed to be initially unlikable and then undergo character growth.
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