Dream Casting MCU Phase 3

written by Justin Prince (@prince_justin)

Our friend Marc Morin of TwoOhSix.com recently posted a piece outlining the news about the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) Phase 3. With this going into development (phase 2 literally JUST started with Iron Man 3 ) I'm already pretty excited for what they have coming next. With the MCU sitting primarily in the core Avengers universe (since Sony owns rights to the Spider-Man franchise and Fox owns anything "X" related) I figured that rather than just reposting what Marc wrote, I'll put together a dreamcast post! I am looking at five major characters in the Avenger's verse and trying to cast appropriately. We'll be looking at Ant-Man, Wasp, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and Vision.

Ryan Gosling as Hank Pym/Ant-Man and Ashley Greene as Janet van Dyne/Wasp. This is something I came up with long before I came to my best friend and said “we should start a website.” It was after Comic Con and I was having a conversation with my sister about fan cast choices for future Marvel properties. There’s this ongoing joke amongst my friends that if I had my say I’d cast Ryan Gosling in everything (I just love that “Hey Girl” meme so much!) but this choice was made taking into account that Gosling coul totally pull of the “sarcastic genius” character and flash that winning smile of his. He’s a charming dude and he could totally pull of Hank Pym to a tee! If you’ve seen the characterization of Ant-Man from Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes you might just agree that he would be perfect for the role. Physically the dude is built like a superhero and roles like his turn as the unnamed drive from 2011’s Drive showcase how comfortable he is with action sequences. As far as Ashley Greene goes, you may (or may not) recognize her as Alice Cullen from the Twilight films, now I wasn’t a fan of the series but once dated a girl who was and had to pretend I gave a shit for a couple years, but this girl made it worthwhile! Her charming persona and infectious smile was a winning combination and her role in various action/fight scenes throughout the film franchise show that this doe eyed beauty is comfortable with a choreographed fight scene. Plus, seeing these two actors together, in my mind they make a winning duo and would definitely look the part in costume.

As far as the king of Wakanda is concerned, I couldn’t picture anyone else but Chiwetel Ejiofor as T’Challa/The Black Panther. The internet agrees, if you just Google his name, some search results will point you in his direction to play the role. Able to deliver a dramatic line, Ejiofor is an accomplished stage actor, having performed in Romeo & Juliet as well as Blue/Orange. In 2001 he was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actor. Fast forward a few years and you may have recognized this versatile actor in a RomCom (Love Actually… D’awwe), opposite Denzel (American Gangster), or facing down a (false) Mayan prediction (2012). His turn as The Operative in Joss Whedon’s Serenity (a continuation of his television space/western Firefly) shows that the man can act in a fight scene. When I imagine The Black Panther in action, I always thought of a strong and ferocious fighter with an air of dignity about him, this is characterized in the character being not just a warrior but also a King. Since FOX owns the rights to anything X-Men, I doubt they would eventually put Storm in these movies, but if they did… Halle Berry would look pretty damn fantastic next to Ejiofor as his Queen.

I could never tell ethnically what Stephen Strange’s background is, but a man like Oded Fehr would be a fantastic Doctor Strange. The dark hair and ethnically ambiguous look of Doc S would be played quite well by the charming Oded Fehr (here fishy fishy fishy). Having played comedic, action, and dramatic roles; he’d most likely be memorable as the Gigolo from Deuce Bigelow Male Gigolo or his roles in The Mummy and the Resident Evil film franchise. His penchant for taking on more action oriented roles plays well into his ability to feel right at home on a big budget superhero flick. Though he was born in Israel, his ability to deliver lines in sans accent would play into the racial ambiguity of the character. Plus, in recent years the man’s been going a little gray, and I don’t know about you but my ideal Doctor Strange is sporting a little gray in his hair. The man is built and would look great as the character, though if he was cast in the role I’d probably still point at the screen and go “fishy, fishy, fishy,” I did it in The Mummy and I did it in Resident Evil: Exctinction… most likely would do it every time he’s on screen, hell I remember an episode of NCIS I once saw him appear as a guest; I tapped the TV screen and said the line… yes I know I’m weird.

Anyway! On to my last pick, I would cast Patrick Wilson as The Vision. His turn as Owlman in 2009’s Watchmen proves that not only can he hold his own in an action flick, but he is also able to don a cape and play a superhero. While able to portray a more vibrant character in other films he’s been in like Insidious or Morning Glory. The guy has can look pretty robotic when asked to show as little emption as possible. The Vision is an android, called a “synthezoid” by his creator Ultron, thus the character would be very similar to other android heroes like Red Tornado of the Justice League or Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation. I can see Wilson playing the role perfectly, I don’t know if he’d get his own film series or if he’d be a character integrated into an Avengers film, but Vision would be an integral part in the future of the MCU.

So there you have it! How much of it would be true? Who knows, but I feel that these casting choices would all be very top notch. I particularly loved my choice for Doctor Strange! I remember when I saw "fishy-fishy" in The Mummy and I though to myself "he would make a really awesome Doctor Strange." I just hope going forward, Marvel Studios learns a lesson from Iron Man 3 and the reception fans had to the whole “Mandarin” thing and decide to not mess with the source material too much. I would hate it if Vision turned out to be a reality television child actor with ADHD. Just saying…