At What Point Will Marvel Recast Heroes In The MCU?

By Nick Tylwalk | Jun 25, 2015

Though it’s not fun to think about, the actors who play our favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe characters aren’t going to be donning their costumes forever. Marvel has already had Robert Downey Jr. decide to stick around after his first contract was up — and Chris Evans looks like he might do the same — but his days of playing Iron Man might not last past Phase Three of the MCU. Others will surely follow.

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In the comics, this isn’t an issue. In fact the opposite is probably true, with publishers forced to change things up just to keep the heroes fresh. But it’s something that Marvel will have to address, and it can do it in three different ways: either recast the parts, transfer the identities (like having Jim Rhodes as Iron Man instead of Tony Stark) or simply shift the focus to other heroes.

Based on recent comments from head man Kevin Fiege, it looks like Marvel is going for a combination of all three methods. But as he told The Hollywood Reporter, we could definitely see people other than RDJ and Evans as Stark and Steve Rogers at some point.

"And certainly to recast in some way or another – as we’ve already done in certain cases. Certainly many other franchises have reached that milestone before we have and done that with great success."

I’m going to assume Fiege is talking about James Bond here, though that’s not the only movie franchise to ever recast a main role. That analogy does fit in some respects, because the Marvel heroes have been around for decades, and are as close to being timeless as there is in American pop culture. They shouldn’t be dependent on any one actor’s interpretation, even one as definitive as Downey’s Stark.

There’s certain to be some pushback from the fans when Marvel does it for the first time, but people are just going to have to accept that there are more good stories to tell with there characters than one actor can fit into his or her career. Recasting is going to happen. Someday.

Fiege also noted that he doesn’t have to worry about it for a while. Still, it’s hard not to imagine that at the end of Phase Three for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there won’t be at least one or two heroes who are recast for Phase Four. The next decade might belong to other super heroes or simply other actors playing familiar ones. With any luck, to steal a line from Star-Lord, it’ll be a bit of both.

(via THR by way of Cinema Blend)

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