If Bob Odenkirk were suited up as Saul Goodman once again, he might ask for an objection on the grounds of speculation. Luckily for us, a little speculation is a lot of fun, especially when it comes to recent rumors that Odenkirk is being considered for entry into the MCU.
We couldn’t mention Odenkirk as a superhero, or even supervillain, without a heavy nod toward his immersive and spectacular performance in the action flick Nobody, in which he showed he can most certainly take a punch and dole out a beating. Sure, he’s now 60, but Odenkirk has more than proven himself as worthy of creating magic without any superpowers at all. We also know he can play alter egos, because he played the hell out of Goodman as well as his aliases Gene Takovic and Jimmy McGill in Better Call Saul.
The original rumor reporting from Kevin Fenix of theilluminerdi.com has Odenkirk jumping into the MCU for the production of Disney Plus series Wonder Man, but perhaps not as anyone with superpowers. We already know that Yahya Abdul-Mateen II will play Simon Williams aka Wonder Man, and that Williams is an actor when he’s not his alter ego, which gives a juicy role of movie star’s manager up for grabs.
To hell with that though; let’s get Odenkirk in a role with superpowers, even if somehow it goes off-script and grants him something special even in a role as a manager.
With Nobody 2 on the horizon, these are the five roles we can safely say we don’t want nobody playing except Odenkirk.
5. Cyclops
Since we’re soaking in the rumor rays, we might as well turn toward the world of X-Men, mutants, and the MCU.
Nobody is allowed to ever play Wolverine again, as we all know, but one overlooked leading man from the mutant world is Cyclops. Usually the movies featuring X-Men are younger, but why couldn’t there be a movie about an aging Cyclops still fighting the good fight, while trying to account for an absence of Professor X and steer the mutant world in the right direction, be played by Odenkirk?
He can even put his lawyer skills to work defending mutants and making it a better world for everyone around. That’s somewhat of an excuse to drop this amazing piece of fan art/fan poster for Saul making an appearance in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.
4. Magneto
We’re gonna stick with the X-Men theme because that’s one element that’s waiting to be properly mined for the MCU. Since that door has started to creep open with Patrick Stewart’s reappearance (and quick death) as Charles Xavier in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, why not bust it wide open?
What better way to get things kicking in full force than to turn the focus away from following just the X-Men, and turn toward a budding and then full-fledged Magneto wrecking the multiverses upside down.
3. Mr. Incredible
Odenkirk already had a voice role in The Incredibles 2 as Winston Deavor. Craig T. Nelson, who voices Bob Parr aka Mr. Incredible in both films, is 78 years old.
As a husband and father of two superhero kids, Mr. Incredible isn’t so young in the second movie, and if it were to be made into a live-action movie much to the delight of fans, why wouldn’t we go ahead and delight fans even further by casting Odenkirk as Mr. Incredible? The character is supposedly in his 40s in the second film, and Odenkirk could definitely still pull off 40s or even 50s, as evidenced by Better Call Saul and Nobody.
Yes, The Incredibles are not part of the MCU, but they are owned by Disney, which controls Marvel. Find some multiversal backdoor black hole workaround and get not just Mr. Incredible in the MCU, but the whole entire family, with Odenkirk as the main man himself. Watch that clip above and tell me Bob Odenkirk isn’t already deserving of the name ‘Mister Incredible.’
2. Ghost Rider
If Nic Cage really wants to ride again as Ghost Rider, well, we’re massively for that. Yet, let’s imagine a world where Odenkirk gets to play a badass out of hell!
Remember, Johnny Blaze aka Ghost Rider is on a mission to pass judgement on criminals and sinners alike; that’s right up Odenkirk’s alley on so many levels, especially after playing Hutch Mansell, whose job it was to eliminate enemies of the state, and as Saul as a (very loose) defender of justice. Odenkirk can play Ghost Rider in a standalone film that just teases some other members of the MCU before he goes on and blazes his way in as well.
1. Mephisto
We already touched on taking Odenkirk and letting him unleash his full devil lurking inside with Magneto. Let’s take that and turn it into an even more evil being with a name that starts with the letter M: Mephisto.
The idea of the MCU’s devilish figure, the perhaps biggest bad, still looms large as we get deeper into Phase Four and look even to Phase Five. It’s only a matter of time before either Marvel rolls out Mephisto, or, fans kind of let go of the idea altogether (at which time, of course, Marvel will roll him out.)
For some reason, Odenkirk as a devilish, sinister figure seems to be a natural fit. Being draped in red makeup, red cape, and even a mask or something else distorting, gives plenty of leeway for an Odenkirk of any age to reign in terror as a maniacal Mephisto. Wasn’t Jimmy née Saul née Gene the best at manipulating and turning those around him into mere puppets to fulfill the world as he sees fit? Isn’t that what Mephisto would be doing in the MCU to a certain degree?
Regardless of how or when Odenkirk enters the MCU, we’re beyond here for it. We’ll take more Odenkirk in any way, shape, or form, on the small or big screen. It’s already been too long since Better Call Saul ended, and we need Odenkirk in a role that allows him to show off a multifaceted character full of inner turmoil, with both demons and angels lurking under the skin.