Who will appear in Avengers: Secret Wars? It might be too early for casting details to have come out — we don’t even know who the villain will be, following Jonathan Majors’ firing — but if you ask the fans, the answer is simple: everyone.
As the mighty final chapter of the Multiverse Saga, the widespread expectation is that Secret Wars will one-up Avengers: Endgame by not just assembling all the heroes in the 616 universe but as many heroes as possible from the entire Marvel multiverse. Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Hugh Jackman seem like plausible potential cameos. Plus, fans are always holding out hope that Robert Downey Jr. could come back too. Or, failing that, Tom Cruise as an alt-Iron Man.
But surely the fun in something like this lies in delivering cameos that we really wouldn’t be expecting. Just think how jaw-dropping it was when Howard the Duck made a post-credits appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy? Or Red Skull returned in Avengers: Infinity War?
There’s one cameo, in particular, that would blow fans’ minds in so many ways. Both because this character is so infamous and because the actor who plays them is no firmly entrenched over in the DC multiverse instead. It might sound far-fetched, but Marvel and Disney Plus have just made a big step towards making this crossover a reality.
Colin Farrell must swap Penguin for Bullseye and return to the Marvel multiverse
Yes, I’m putting it out there into the universe: let’s get Colin Farrell back as Bullseye.
Much to the delight of DD devotees, Daredevil: Born Again is set to feature the return of Wilson Bethel as Benjamin Pointdexter. Near-miss Captain America Bethel was acclaimed for his performance in Daredevil season 3 thanks to his nuanced, sinister, and brutal depiction of Bullseye, which came in sharp contrast to the campy portrayal of the crackshot assassin in his prior live-action appearance, 2003’s Daredevil.
Ben Affleck may hold the film up as the biggest regret of his career, but in the wake of a legitimately great screen adaptation of the Man Without Fear, it’s entirely possible to revisit the Daredevil movie and derive some entertainment from the superhero misfire. And Farrell’s larger-than-life turn as Bullseye is undoubtedly one of the film’s highlights. Don’t think about how a world-famous assassin can avoid the authorities if he has a bullseye on his forehead, just go with the vibes.
Marvel Studios itself clearly has a fondness for Daredevil ’03 as Jennifer Garner is set to reprise Elektra Natchios in July’s Deadpool 3. This is huge as it officially connects the film’s universe with the MCU multiverse, leaving the door open for Affleck to don the horned helmet again in Secret Wars. While it would be epic to have another Batman show up in the MCU (joining Michael Keaton and Christian Bale), let’s not overlook the appeal of seeing Farrell back as Bullseye.
These days, Farrell has made a home at DC himself, playing the Penguin opposite Robert Pattinson’s Dark Knight in The Batman franchise. He’s even got his own Max streaming series on the way. While Farrell’s Oswald Cobblepot is certainly a big performance in its own right, we haven’t seen Farrell go completely wild like he did as Bullseye for a long while now. No doubt the actor and his fans would love to see him let off his leash and slip on a bald cap to play Bullseye once more.
Look, I’m not saying let’s have him show up as the main villain — although that would be something to behold — but Bullseye appearing in Secret Wars would exemplify exactly the right kind of gonzo energy that Avengers 6 needs to end the middling Multiverse Saga on a creative peak and really hit that… target.
