It was rumored last week that Marvel Studios was in talks to recast the character Thaddeus Ross after William Hurt. the actor who brought the antagonist to life in past films, died. And if such rumors are true, it could very well be the most historic casting that Marvel’s eponymous cinematic franchise has ever accomplished; indeed, the whispers of Harrison Ford being attached to Ross’s character are enough to send generations of fans into a frenzy.
But there’s another Lucasfilm frequenter that would find themselves right at home in a franchise with all the star power under the sun, and that’s Ewan McGregor of Star Wars and Fargo fame.
The Golden Globe winner’s name is like catnip to audiences, and his turn in Birds of Prey means he already has his foot in the door when it comes to comic book adaptations. Nevertheless, exactly who McGregor could possibly portray in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a conversation that could last for hours. Having said that, here are seven characters that McGregor could don the mantle of if he ever does make an MCU appearance.
Dr. Henry “Hank” McCoy aka Beast
It will be hard to shake the fan castings of Matt Berry and Henry Cavill when it comes to one of the X-Men’s most important members, but McGregor more than deserves to be a part of that conversation as well.
With McCoy being the one member of the X-Men that could be considered a peer to Professor X himself, McGregor’s aesthetic and gravitas would make for fantastic tools in this portrayal. And thanks to his claim to fame as Obi-Wan Kenobi, who’s no stranger to turmoil, McGregor would have no trouble embodying the inner struggles that McCoy is often stuck with.
Silver Surfer
Ideally, you wouldn’t want to use a name like Ewan McGregor for a relatively inconsequential character. Fortunately, Silver Surfer is certain to be anything but that when he shows up in the MCU canon; boasting a fraction of the power wielded by the planet-eating Galactus, the chrome alien will surely be a big player.
Depending on how they plan to write the character, McGregor could slot into the role in a number of interesting ways. Silver Surfer will almost certainly be at least partly defined by his relationship with Galactus, which McGregor could very well spin by drawing from Kenobi’s relationship with his late master Qui-Gon Jinn. The Power Cosmic, where the character’s powers come from, could also very well become a target for future MCU antagonists, and thanks to his turn as an adult Danny Torrance in Doctor Sleep, McGregor would be more than prepared for that.
Angel/Archangel
One of the founding members of the X-Men, Warren Worthington III (aka Angel) would make for an intriguing villain in future MCU projects, with his duality of the more heroic Angel and the darker, manipulated Archangel making for a mouth-watering creative playground.
McGregor’s ability to embody an authority figure (especially with the Obi-Wan Kenobi beard) would be a great fit for a founding member of the X-Men, depending on how the X-Men are established in the MCU when we finally get to see them, and like Beast, Angel’s inner turmoil would be like bread and butter to McGregor. At the very least, McGregor would make for an excellent variant of Angel, given that Ben Foster, who looks quite a bit like McGregor, has already played the character in X-Men: The Last Stand.
Sabretooth
We saw how much fun McGregor had in his villainous role in Birds of Prey, where he portrayed narcissistic crime lord Roman Sionis (aka Black Mask). Naturally, such a position would require a bit of restraint on the part of Roman, but what might McGregor be able to do if restraint wasn’t part of the character’s equation?
Enter Sabretooth, the nemesis of the MCU-confirmed hero Wolverine, wanton serial killer and assassin, savagery enthusiast, and, overall just about as brutal of a character as it gets. The only obstacle really standing in the way is whether or not Marvel Studios would be able to make the character palatable for their franchise, but the combined efforts of a talented writing team and McGregor could probably churn out the right formula.
Gladiator
Perhaps the portrayal that would benefit most from McGregor’s time as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Gladiator is something of a Marvel everyman, having had encounters with the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, often as a reluctant or misled opponent.
Gladiator, real name Kallark, is of the Strontian race of aliens, whose Kryptonian-adjacent superpowers increase and decrease with their levels of confidence. Honor-bound as part of the Imperial Guard of the Shi’ar Empire, which his home planet is a part of, it’s rare that Gladiator’s powers aren’t firing on all cylinders.
But, if he eventually shows up in the MCU, what might happen to Gladiator if he begins questioning the cause that he’s been devoted to for so long? Whatever it is, we’re sure that McGregor would nail this particular breed of turmoil better than anyone else.
Sebastian Shaw
Dialing back McGregor’s villain capabilities to those of Black Mask, mutant crime lord Sebastian Shaw’s appearance in the MCU could hold some of the most dizzying nuances in the franchise’s history if it were to materialize.
A frequent enemy of the X-Men, Shaw has ties with former Sorcerer Supreme Hiram Shaw, a Puritan Reverend who played a substantial role in the Salem Witch Trials, which have already been alluded to in the MCU canon thanks to WandaVision. This alone grants the character ties to the likes of Agatha Harkness, Dormammu, and the X-Men. This is only exacerbated by his comics-canon association with Howard Stark, with whom he shared membership of the Hellfire Club, a secret society of mutants seeking world domination of which Shaw eventually becomes the leader.
Indeed, there’s a treasure trove of history surrounding Sebastian Shaw that could slot him in as one of the MCU’s biggest antagonists, and if Kevin Bacon isn’t up for reprising his role from X-Men: First Class, we think McGregor would be more than up to the task.
Captain Britain
A cheeky nod to McGregor’s nationality as much as it is a role with the most pivotal potential, Captain Britain is perhaps the most likely candidate for an MCU appearance as far as non-X-Men go. But most importantly, we could be seeing Captain Britain sooner than some may think.
For those who don’t know, Captain Britain’s comics line was the first to introduce the Marvel Multiverse back in 1971, where most of the Marvel Comics mainline continuity was designated as Earth-616, and where the Captain Britain Corps — a multiverse-wide organization that houses each version of Captain Britain for each respective universe — was first established.
We’re waist-deep in the Multiverse Saga at the time of writing, and so to pass on a character so quintessentially associated with the Multiverse would be a rather alarming move from Marvel Studios. Either way, whether it’s before or after the current saga, the existence of the Multiverse deafeningly foreshadows an appearance from Captain Britain, and an actor as storied as McGregor would bring everything and more to such an important character.
Published: Oct 10, 2022 11:17 am