8 Characters That Matt Smith Could Play In The Marvel Cinematic Universe

Matt Smith recently made headlines when he stated his interest in having a role in a Marvel movie. Of course, this sent shockwaves across the Internet, resulting in everyone and their mother putting in their own two cents about whom the former 11th Doctor should play. It was only a matter of time, too. After all, portraying the Doctor gets you a large amount of nerd cred and Marvel hasn’t been shy about courting former Doctors for their projects. The 9th Doctor, Christopher Eccleston, played the villain in Thor: The Dark World (who was unfortunately so unmemorable that it’s not worth mentioning his name), and the 10th Doctor, David Tennant, played Kilgrave in the first season of Jessica Jones and cemented himself as one of the MCU's best baddies. Now that Smith has opened the door, Marvel should jump at the opportunity to bring him into the family. He’s a tremendously talented actor who hasn’t gotten his due yet post-Doctor Who. His film appearances to date have been lackluster, with supporting roles in Terminator: Genisys and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies not adequately showing Smith’s range. But a part in something Marvel-related could definitely give him his much deserved second break. Bullseye Starting off the list is a character that initially seems like an odd choice. Bullseye is a serious and deadly villain and Matt Smith is generally seen as a goofy man-child, but any member of the 11th Doctor fan club will tell you there’s a serious darkness lurking behind his eyes. That’s why Smith should be considered for Daredevil villain Bullseye. There’s been no confirmation that the character will show up anytime soon, but given that he’s one of the hero's most famous baddies, it would be wise to bet that Bullseye is coming eventually. Whoever plays the villain, who's known for being an assassin that never misses anything, has to be able to channel terrifying and charismatic all at once if he wants to come close to matching the greatness of other Netflix villains like Kingpin and Kilgrave. After all, Bullseye can easily become a one-note antagonist if not played by an actor who can bring the character to life over the course of an entire season of television. In Terminator: Genisys, viewers only got to see a glimpse of Evil Matt Smith, so we think it’s about time Marvel unleashed his dark side. J. Jonah Jameson Wait! Hear us out, before you judge. We know it’s downright blasphemous to suggest anyone take up the mantle of J. Jonah Jameson after J.K. Simmons played the character to perfection in Sam Raimi’s original Spider-Man trilogy. After all, it’s hard to imagine anyone else portraying him with the same intensity, humor and heart as Simmons did and it's by far going to be the hardest role to recast once the Marvel movies actually introduce the Spider-Man-hating editor of the Daily Bugle into their universe. This is where the studio needs to deliver on a completely off the wall, yet still oddly feasible choice for the character, and that’s why we think Matt Smith should be the next J. Jonah Jameson. On Doctor Who, Smith showed an incredible knack for switching between silly and angry faster than you can say “Get me pictures of Spider-Man!” and that’s the one element of Jameson’s character that should be retained when the character gets rebooted. Everything else? It’s time for an update. In the comics, Jameson is the stereotypical newspaper editor who just yells out ridiculous things and hates Spider-Man with a fiery passion. He has to be the butt of many jokes as a result of his blow-hard, one-sided viewpoint, but he’s not dumb by any means. J.K. Simmons was able to walk that line with ease, and we believe a more modern take on the character with Smith stepping in could bear similar results. Moon Knight One of the characters that fans agree would be perfect for his own Netflix show is the wonderfully weird Moon Knight. He’s equal parts quirky and violent in his methods in handling crime. The best way to describe him would probably be listening to his own reasoning for why he wears a bright white costume: “I don’t wear white to hide myself, I wear it so they’ll see me coming. So they know who it is, ’cause when they see white it doesn’t matter how good a target I am. Their hands shake so bad, they couldn’t hit the moon.” Although he’s often described as Marvel’s version of Batman, the character’s psychological issues go way deeper than Bruce Wayne’s dead parents trauma. When Moon Knight started out, he had not one alter-ego, but three of them! His normal, yet tortured Marc Spector, the billionaire Steven Grant, and the one-time cabbie Jake Lockley. Later arcs had Moon Knight always struggling with who he actually was and never being sure which identity was the real one. Can you imagine a show where Matt Smith plays a badass vigilante, but also someone grappling with three very different personalities? It would require a hugely talented actor to take on the role and Smith would be a solid choice to handle all the different elements that make Moon Knight such a likeable character. Mr. Fantastic After the disastrous misfire of Fox’s Fantastic Four film, it became extremely clear that the rights of the characters should revert back to Marvel so they can be handled properly. If by some miraculous reason, the MCU ever sees the return of Marvel’s First Family, then we have just the actor lined up to play their leader, Mr. Fantastic. Casting Smith as Mr. Fantastic is almost too perfect. Reed Richards is one of the smartest men in all of Marvel comics and Smith already has a background playing a super genius that knows just about everything there is to know. What would truly set Mr. Fantastic apart from other brilliant superheroes (like Iron Man and Doctor Strange) though, would be Smith’s ability to play an incredibly humbled genius when he needs to. It’s that trait that most Marvel films are missing with their super smart superheroes and that’s why Smith would be a breath of fresh air in the role. Plus, he already kind of looks like his body is made of stretchy material. Adam Warlock At the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, the perfection-driven Ayesha reveals she has a pod where she's creating the next step in evolution for the Sovereign race. She names the person in the pod Adam, which has since been confirmed as Adam Warlock. In the comics, Warlock is a perfect specimen of super strength, durability, endurance, etc. Now imagine if at the start of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Ayesha opens her pod expecting an Olympian God of a man and it turns out to be… Matt Smith. Don’t get us wrong, Smith is attractive in an alien sort of way, but he’s far from what a lot of people would call a “perfect-looking physical specimen.” Delivering such a character swerve is exactly the sort of thing James Gunn would do and it would fit within the humor of the Guardians franchise. Although the character of Adam Warlock will never be as important on screen as he is in the comics (he’s vital in the Infinity Gauntlet arc), casting Smith in the role would be the closest thing to a consolation prize that we can think of. Norman Osborn One of Spider-Man’s greatest enemies, Norman Osborn, is another character that will eventually be recast now that Spidey is firmly in the MCU. A ruthless, genius businessman by day, terrifying Goblin menace by night, Matt Smith has the chops to play both parts of the role with ease. You'd have no problem believing the actor as a businessman bossing other people around and ruling his company with an iron fist, and it also isn’t hard to see Smith cackling like a madman while soaring through the skies of New York on his Goblin Glider. The best part about having Smith play Osborn is the longterm prospects. After the Avengers beat Thanos, there’s going to have to be some overarching villain that appears in multiple movies, and Smith as Osborn provides more than enough of a threat to challenge Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. He could basically be this universe’s alternative to Lex Luthor, which is something the MCU is severely lacking right now. Mephisto Would you believe Matt Smith as the Devil? That’s basically Mephisto in a nutshell. He’s an extremely powerful demonic entity who likes to go around causing trouble for everyone in the Marvel universe and also has a wide range of powers - he’s immortal and he likes to acquire souls to fuel his magic by making pacts. As mentioned before, The Avengers are going to need a strong villain to fight in the future after Thanos, and Mephisto is the type of world-ending threat that could unite Earth’s Mightiest Heroes once again. Everyone knows that playing the Devil always requires two different approaches. He should be charming and suave when he needs to be, making his demonic offers and bargains appear enticing to the weak-willed, but he also needs to be terror-incarnate when he’s angry. Anyone familiar with Smith’s work knows the actor is more than capable of handling such a role. The best part about this character is that he fits with just about every Marvel hero and he could feasibly be inserted into just about every movie. If Matt Smith really wanted to play a villain, there should be no higher goal than Mephisto. Taskmaster One of Marvel’s most formidable villains deserves an actor like Matt Smith playing him. Taskmaster is a unique antagonist with the power to absorb knowledge instantaneously, which means he can mimic almost any fighting style or talent used against him. If he watches Black Widow do some crazy kung fu, he'll instantly know how to do it as well. If he watches Hawkeye use a bow and arrow, he’ll become an expert, too. If he sees Captain America somehow defy the laws of physics with his super shield throwing power, Taskmaster will also be able to do it. As cool as the villain is, there’s also something a little tragic about his power. The more knowledge he learns instantaneously, the more of his own memories get erased, which would create a degree of sympathy for a character that’s generally perceived as villainous. He isn’t super-powered enough to be the “Big Bad” of a film, but he's a more than worthy henchman who could give our heroes an incredibly difficult time. And for some reason, if Marvel didn’t want to cast Taskmaster as a villain, there've been times where he’s been painted as more of an antihero, which adds another dimension to his already interesting character. Smith would be an exciting choice for the role and casting him would go a long way in making Marvel villain henchmen more dynamic.