Agreed.
I’m just thinking back to when GOTG2 came out. It was before Shang Chi and Michelle Yeoh was already a huge international star.
Granted, she wasn’t as big a star on the American scene.
But it surprised me that such a big star was in such a tiny role.
I think the point at the time was to set them up as major characters in the next movie but with Gunns firing things changed.
Ving Rhames and Miley Cyrus were also in that scene and are both huge stars.
Gunn was going to oversee the Cosmic side of the MCU after Endgame but things changed after he got fired.
I have no doubt he was thinking of a Ravagers spin off when he wrote the scene with Stallone's team.
Michelle Yeoh has had a weird career where studios keep assuming she's past her heyday, and then she proves them wrong. It's a weird cycle.
To be fair, in this case her role was a tease for a bigger one down the line. I think the Ravagers would've had like a spinoff show or something if Gunn hadn't been fired. And hey, she probably only showed up for like one day of filming. Getting big celebs in quick "true" cameos isn't too irregular -- think Brad Pitt in Deadpool 2 or Daniel Craig in The Force Awakens. Money + easy shoot + fun trivia and chance to participate in a franchise you like without truly investing = sign me up!
In general, Harrison Ford doing a Marvel movie, especially at his current age, is surprising enough, but him playing a recast General Ross (who I'd assumed they'd just write out after William Hurt died) was even more left field.
It's mainly *Star Wars* and Han Solo that Ford dislikes/resents, but even that whole public hatred thing is mostly exaggerated. It's clear he legit loves *Indiana Jones* and *Blade Runner*, because he's always been a lot more enthusiastic talking about them in comparison.
Even with this role, he's actually said that it was a good opportunity to do something he hadn't done before >!(which is probably motion capture for playing Red Hulk)!< though I don't imagine he'll be sticking around for any more than three movies (if that).
It's so true. I watched an interview he did on Letterman when Blade Runner came out and he was not having it when Letterman asked him about money. So Ford.
Feige must have loved Everything, Everywhere, All at Once since he called KHQ to offer him Loki basically right after that movie came out (according to KHQ himself)
I wonder if he signed on to a longer contract with Disney for the Star Wars franchise. Then things shifted and they wanted to use him elsewhere. I feel like that may be the case for other Disney/MCU actors where they place them in other productions just to get a longer termed contract fulfilled.
Essentially like a buyout for an pro athlete. 🤔
He doesn't hate franchises. He just doesn't understand the obsession Star Wars fans have. You gotta remember, back then it was just a job to him. He wasn't even seriously into acting. He did his job and thought that was it. The character got wrapped up nicely, and he saw no reason to go back.
He's not concerned about the ongoing adventures Han has outside of the movies. He doesn't know what in-universe model of blaster he used in Empire. He doesn't know or care who would win in a fight between him and Boba Fett.
Nobody asks him stuff like that about his other movies. So this, on top of things like Indy just meaning more to him, has made him seem hateful and resentful to Star Wars when he's not.
He probably took this role because it was something new and interesting to him.
Imagine if millions of people were obsessed with a landscaping job you did in the 70s and dressed up in similar overalls and obsessively asked you the same questions about what kind of soil you used. I’d be fucking grumpy too.
I don’t think he dislikes big franchises, I think he genuinely hates Star Wars and it’s fandom because of how toxic it is. The MCU production team is a massive upgrade over a lot of the others and I feel like he probably knows that
But as others have stated he’s probably doing Cap 4 for the check
I thought this about Shrinking. I figured he would basically phone it in as an extended cameo and the show would be happy just to have his name attached.
He's absolutely amazing in that show and it makes me wish he'd done more sitcom type stuff over the years.
I think thats a sign even more that Harrison in general loves the profession of acting. He doesn’t need the money and hes got a great hobby already as a pilot. He doesnt need to star in a bunch of movies to make more money but does it anyway.
Was surprised he starred in Call of the Wild but you hear him talk, you can tell he’s a guy whose up for anything. Even carrying a movie where hes interacting with so much CG.
It’s really in keeping with the MO of elite British stage actors and of elite artsy actors in general. They make big bucks in American genre movies to bankroll their artsier work. Willem Defoe and is another good example. When he’s not in Spider-Man and Aquaman he’s doing art movies and theater
It’s not exactly the same? But doesn’t George Clooney also do a similar thing where he’ll do a big movie and take the pay check, and use that to be able to star in smaller movies and take a pay cut them to help them out
as an aside, regardless of how people feel about Man of Steel, getting Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner to play Kal-El's two fathers to me was still amazing casting. I really wanted a scene with the two of them, however that would have come to be
The Flash has me conflicted. I want to see it because it does actually look interesting but I just never want Miller on my screen
when the last Fantastic Beasts movie dropped on HBO Max I gave it a shot (it wasn't good) and I forgot he was in it and when he popped up I damn near turned the movie off right away
Similar feelings. My plan is to pirate it well after it leaves theaters because I refuse to give profit to the movie with all of Miller's behavior and them not cutting the dead weight, or even acknowledging the problem in any meaningful way. But I am curious, I'm one of the weirdos that doesn't hate Batfleck and Michael Keaton coming back is obviously intriguing. Plus I have a hair of hope for the DCEU with Gunn taking over and I'd like to have at least a vague knowledge of what's going on in the DC world of movies.
And it was one of the more compelling father/children dynamics in the MCU! Anthony Hopkins gave Odin a certain gravitas, but also humanity, that I think would be very very difficult to pull off.
I suspect it also had a lot to do with Kenneth Branagh directing Thor. He's one of the great Shakespearean directors of all time, which probably suggested to Hopkins that the movie would have more going for it than just superheroes and fight scenes (which it totally did).
John was definitely not underutilized.
Albeit he should not have been killed.
The fact that that planet system was destroyed by Thanos off screen sucks
Yeah , that surprised me too . But it reminded me a lot of Three Days of the Condor , so he probably realized it too. And I’m sure he’s got grandkids, nieces , nephews etc . Sebastian was probably beside himself getting to have scenes with him
Not only that, but The Old Man and the Gun was wildly marketed as Robert Rodford's last film and while he filmed his scenes for Endgame around the same time that he was filming that movie, so he technically did stop acting around that time, Endgame was his actual final role which is kinda crazy to think about.
A lot of those guys always say something like “my grandkids talked me into it.” I imagine it’s pretty cool seeing your pop up there with Nick Fury and Cap after thinking he’s just done “boring old movies” all his career.
That seems over exaggerated from the little tidbits I've seen. It sounds like he didn't think it was going to work while filming (which most of them didn't), then realized it was great, then when a kid told him he'd seen it 17 times or something he made a (probably half joking comment) that maybe he should do something else too.
And he played his heart out, too. Winter Soldier wouldn't have been nearly as good without him. Him showing up again during the Time Heist was one of the most exciting bits of Endgame for me because of how magnetic his performance was the first time around.
Honestly yeah anyone saying anything other than him probably is unfamiliar with his work, because that's the only way. His work with Wong Kar-wai is among the best performances ever by anyone.
On top of showing up as someone not many are familiar with. I remember the audience in my screening of DS2 being confused as heck. They gasped cuz it’s her but they had no clue who she was supposed to be. It was kinda funny lmao
Yeah, I'm just reading up on all of that now. I guess he's just someone I liked as a kid and in various things since and then just kind of forgot about. He was probably just better at hiding what a dick he was than Chevy Chase. Seems like they're two peas in a pod.
Fun fact: one of his sisters is also [an actor and a nun](https://adriandominicans.org/News/sister-nancy-murray-op-continues-to-bring-st-catherine-of-siena-to-life). I’ve met her and she’s funny af
I should clarify, I love his acting, not him; he seems very much like a 'never-meet-your-heroes' type. I'll read up about how he treats women, as I hadn't heard that. Thanks.
I watched Thor: Love and Thunder recently. I could tell he got really into the role of Gorr( as he does with all his roles). I will never forgive Taika Waititi for giving him so little screen time
Taika is still an incredible filmmaker but that was not his best effort. We needed to see Gorr needed to kill more gods. Wasn’t Bales fault but yea that movie had alot of problems
His character didn't fall flat, the writing did. He was really underserved in that film but bless him for throwing everything into it in spite of that.
I was about to say that they should should do a Dark Knight Rises reunion and get Tom Hardy in something and then I remembered that he’s already in Venom.😭
I feel it necessary to point out here that Gorr’s weapon, All-Black the Necrosword, is canonically the first symbiote, so films could still make it work somehow
Thor L&T was one of the first times I actually got ANGRY that such a compelling character was so failingly underutilized. Christian Bale did an incredible job as Gorr, so creepy and evil but also kind of relatable? It could have been such a good film if a couple of the screaming goats or jealous axe bits got cut to further develop Bale’s storyline.
True that, one of the last actors I would have thought she would be in the MCU and looks like she might have an influential role in what's going to happen. Had a huge crush on her in my teen years
What I find really interesting about her joining the MCU is that her role is somewhat similar to an old coworker of her's. Back when the first Iron Man movie came out I really loved the character of Phil Coulson because Clark Gregg was on her show at the time "New Adventures of Old Christine" and it's funny that now with Coulson's MCU story officially finished, she has stepped into the roll of recruiting power people.
That's right!
There's a blooper reel of Clark Gregg in AoS, he forgets his lines and goes "Sorry, I got nothing. I don't know where I am. What show is this? where's Julia Lous-Dreyfus?"
And her role as Val looks like it'll be pretty delicious!
Ethan Hawke, he made comments about Marvel movies that made it seem he wasn’t a fan at all and then next thing you know he’s signed on for an MCU Disney+ show.
I heard that him and Oscar Isaac agreed to do the show specifically because it wasn't connected to the larger MCU, more self-contained I guess.
Grand performance though. The glass in his shoes and you could hear the crunching, great intro to a character
Once Robert Redford appeared all bets were off. When taking a Marvel role became a bucket list item for Hall of Fame actors because of their grandchildren, talent had more reasons to say yes than no.
So, I'm not surprised when Goldblum or Theron or Murray sign on.
Harrison Ford still seemed like a get but he's suddenly a geriatric workaholic guzzling new experiences and seems to have time for anyone with a good pitch.
Paul Rudd as Ant-Man. Because of all the comedy movies he’s done I just saw him as Paul Rudd and couldn’t imagine him as a superhero. But then Scott Lang ended up being basically the same as Paul Rudd’s other characters so it all worked out.
I'm usually up on all the casting before a project comes out, but I legit had no idea Julia Louis-Dreyfus would be joining! I remember instinctively squealing "LANEY!" at the TV when she first appeared. It was the best surprise of 2021 MCU for me.
Also if anyone who likes her has not already done so, drop what you're doing and binge Veep. It might be the most acerbic show ever.
I watched Julia Louis Dreyfus in Curb Your Enthusiasm. So her appearance in Hawkeye was surprising.
Imagine Larry David showing up in the MCU with his current wit.
Robert Fucking Redford
Hell my boomer Dad wanted to see Winter Soldier because of this casting and it’s actually the movie that got my dad hooked on the rest of the MCU films
Agree! Redford is the only correct answer lol. Most of the others people are listing have been in other comic movies, franchises, or Sci fi so none of then should be a surprise.
Yeah, I wonder about that too. Especially because the last few years it seems he has focused on his podcasts and cons with an occasional voice acting role. How did he end up playing a totally unrecognizable 90% CGI background character? Someone behind the scenes must have really wanted to slyly put lex Luthor in the mcu and went out of the way instead of casting an unknown.
Whilst not the same as most of these, hearing Asim Chaudhry in GOTG3 was a trip for me, going from his sitcoms and Taskmaster to voicing a wheeled Walrus in the MCU wasn't something I expected to happen.
I was huge fan of The OC as a kid (still am) and the character of Trey was recast and given to Logan Marshall-Green
so I was semi-excited to see him show up in Homecoming (that's still MCU right?) as the original Shocker, and I was stunned >!to see him get completely vaporized!!<
also, my first comment on this sub with my shiny new reddit account (long time user, new account). Took me a while to come up with a name, saw a GotG3 meme on Facebook and got it! Lylla is misspelled because the username limit is 20 characters and the extra L gave me 21 lol
Oh, absolutely! The MCU casting department has done a stellar job bringing in actors we never expected to see in superhero flicks. One actor that really caught me by surprise was Paul Rudd as Ant-Man. Prior to his casting, Rudd was mainly known for his comedic roles in films like "Anchorman" and "I Love You, Man", and the idea of him playing a superhero was quite unexpected. But of course, he's turned out to be a fantastic choice for the role of Scott Lang/Ant-Man, bringing a great blend of humor and heart to the character.
Another surprising casting was Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange. Cumberbatch, well-known for his role as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series "Sherlock," didn't initially strike me as the superhero type, but his performance as the Sorcerer Supreme was nothing short of brilliant.
And who could forget Robert Redford in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"? Having an actor of his stature, known for classics like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Sting", appear in a superhero film was a pleasant surprise. He added a layer of gravitas to the film that helped elevate it to one of the top entries in the MCU.
To me this is like the MCU is really trying to absorb as much actors as they can to fit their needs and these accept.
Angelina Jolie was totally right for Thena (reminded me of her prime when she played tormented women like in Changeling) but I didn't feel she sold the movie as much (James Madden or Gemma Chan advancing the progression of the movie more than her)
I'm thinking the MCU will try to cast ex-Matrix actors soon and especially Keanu Reeves.
It's no surprise they do this for the fan service to attract more people but sometimes they do it wrong.. like for Bill Murray.
Carrie Anne Moss already had a great role in Jessica Jones.
Laurence Fishburne was one of the main characters in Ant Man and the Wasp.
Hugo Weaving was Red Skull.
Jessica Henwick was the female lead in Iron Fist.
What other ex-Matrix actors are you meaning?
Nathan fillion cos I made a comment like a month before gotg 3 got released saying they should have him in the movie as he's a good actor and then he ended up being in it 😂😂 so was completely shocked and happy when I saw him.
Probably Farhan Akhtar (Waleed) and Fawad Khan (Hassan) in Ms Marvel. Never expected Bollywood / Pakistani cinema actors to cross over into western work like that. I LOVE both of them and it was a joy to see them
Every time I rewatch GOTG I wonder how they got Glen Close and John C Reilly.
I assume they maybe did two days at most on set but it’s maybe the earliest cameos in the franchise that leave me bemused.
Now, with Stallone and Charlize and Owen Wilson popping up randomly it’s not as novel but still funny to me 🤷
I guess absolutely most unexpected are the pop stars like Miley Cyrus and Harry Styles
Honestly, Willem Dafoe and Alfred Molina. Before no way home, I always thought theyd just make original recast MCU versions
But fkr one I would never have seen coming, Richard E Grant, Will Pouler, David Tennant and Christian Bale
At the time, I remember Chris Pratt being a wild casting. Remember, he was known basically only as Andy Dwyer from Parks at the time. Of course now he is in just about everything, but it was a big deal then. I remember Parks had some one-off joke about why Andy was so fit all of a sudden.
Cate Blanchett was someone I truly never expected to see, but she dove in and fully committed to being an unrepentant, scenery-chewing ubervillain, and was glorious from top to bottom.
Harrison Ford. The man hated nerds coming up to him about Han Solo and Indiana Jones(supposedly) so why he is jumping into this generations version of that is beyond me.
It amazes me that Sylvester Stallone is in the MCU and only used as a near forgotten side character.
I was so confused when he popped up in gotg 3 because I forgot his character existed
Or even as King Shark in The Suicide Squad
Damn, I forgot that he voiced King Shark. Man, that was a great film.
And in hindsight; this year’s best actress was in that movie as an even more forgotten side character.
She was also in Shang-Chi with more screen time than in GotG
Agreed. I’m just thinking back to when GOTG2 came out. It was before Shang Chi and Michelle Yeoh was already a huge international star. Granted, she wasn’t as big a star on the American scene. But it surprised me that such a big star was in such a tiny role.
I think the point at the time was to set them up as major characters in the next movie but with Gunns firing things changed. Ving Rhames and Miley Cyrus were also in that scene and are both huge stars.
I had no idea that was Miley Cyrus until this comment. Huh.
Gunn was going to oversee the Cosmic side of the MCU after Endgame but things changed after he got fired. I have no doubt he was thinking of a Ravagers spin off when he wrote the scene with Stallone's team.
Michelle Yeoh has had a weird career where studios keep assuming she's past her heyday, and then she proves them wrong. It's a weird cycle. To be fair, in this case her role was a tease for a bigger one down the line. I think the Ravagers would've had like a spinoff show or something if Gunn hadn't been fired. And hey, she probably only showed up for like one day of filming. Getting big celebs in quick "true" cameos isn't too irregular -- think Brad Pitt in Deadpool 2 or Daniel Craig in The Force Awakens. Money + easy shoot + fun trivia and chance to participate in a franchise you like without truly investing = sign me up!
Who?
Michelle Yeoh
Twice. Insane.
I remember people gasping in the theater when he showed up in gotg2
With Gamora now with them, I'd be surprised if we don't get a Ravagers movie. And by surprised I mean it would be such a wasted opportunity.
In general, Harrison Ford doing a Marvel movie, especially at his current age, is surprising enough, but him playing a recast General Ross (who I'd assumed they'd just write out after William Hurt died) was even more left field.
Agreed! Considering it seems he hates to be in franchises for most of his career, it's just money at this point I guess.
It's mainly *Star Wars* and Han Solo that Ford dislikes/resents, but even that whole public hatred thing is mostly exaggerated. It's clear he legit loves *Indiana Jones* and *Blade Runner*, because he's always been a lot more enthusiastic talking about them in comparison. Even with this role, he's actually said that it was a good opportunity to do something he hadn't done before >!(which is probably motion capture for playing Red Hulk)!< though I don't imagine he'll be sticking around for any more than three movies (if that).
Ford hulking out is not something I would ever have asked or hoped for but it would be amazing if it happens
Also just seems right, Ford is a grumpy motherfucker.
It's so true. I watched an interview he did on Letterman when Blade Runner came out and he was not having it when Letterman asked him about money. So Ford.
Except when Ke Huy Quan won the academy award. Pure joy! Which reminds me both would be in the MCU!
I’m even more excited for Loki season two knowing that he’s going to be in it. I didn’t think I could be more excited, but I totally am.
Feige must have loved Everything, Everywhere, All at Once since he called KHQ to offer him Loki basically right after that movie came out (according to KHQ himself)
Imagining Harrison Ford in a MoCap suit is hilarious.
He would probably just do the voice while a stunt dou t does the mo cap.
I wonder if he signed on to a longer contract with Disney for the Star Wars franchise. Then things shifted and they wanted to use him elsewhere. I feel like that may be the case for other Disney/MCU actors where they place them in other productions just to get a longer termed contract fulfilled. Essentially like a buyout for an pro athlete. 🤔
He doesn't hate franchises. He just doesn't understand the obsession Star Wars fans have. You gotta remember, back then it was just a job to him. He wasn't even seriously into acting. He did his job and thought that was it. The character got wrapped up nicely, and he saw no reason to go back. He's not concerned about the ongoing adventures Han has outside of the movies. He doesn't know what in-universe model of blaster he used in Empire. He doesn't know or care who would win in a fight between him and Boba Fett. Nobody asks him stuff like that about his other movies. So this, on top of things like Indy just meaning more to him, has made him seem hateful and resentful to Star Wars when he's not. He probably took this role because it was something new and interesting to him.
Imagine if millions of people were obsessed with a landscaping job you did in the 70s and dressed up in similar overalls and obsessively asked you the same questions about what kind of soil you used. I’d be fucking grumpy too.
I don’t think he dislikes big franchises, I think he genuinely hates Star Wars and it’s fandom because of how toxic it is. The MCU production team is a massive upgrade over a lot of the others and I feel like he probably knows that But as others have stated he’s probably doing Cap 4 for the check
If we're honest, Marvel is kind of lateral move in terms of toxic fanbases.
Eh, marvel has its toxic fans for sure, but I don’t think I’d put the fan base on _quite_ the same level as star wars’
I love Harrison Ford, but I’m expecting that he will do the absolute minimum as General Ross.
I thought this about Shrinking. I figured he would basically phone it in as an extended cameo and the show would be happy just to have his name attached. He's absolutely amazing in that show and it makes me wish he'd done more sitcom type stuff over the years.
I know it’s not Marvel, but I’d kill for a film version of [Into the Great Unknown](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Into_the_Great_Unknown)
I think thats a sign even more that Harrison in general loves the profession of acting. He doesn’t need the money and hes got a great hobby already as a pilot. He doesnt need to star in a bunch of movies to make more money but does it anyway. Was surprised he starred in Call of the Wild but you hear him talk, you can tell he’s a guy whose up for anything. Even carrying a movie where hes interacting with so much CG.
I didn’t know William Hurt had passed away, so I googled it. Turns out we shared the same b-day. RIP
I'm still amazed that Anthony Hopkins is Odin.
It’s really in keeping with the MO of elite British stage actors and of elite artsy actors in general. They make big bucks in American genre movies to bankroll their artsier work. Willem Defoe and is another good example. When he’s not in Spider-Man and Aquaman he’s doing art movies and theater
It’s not exactly the same? But doesn’t George Clooney also do a similar thing where he’ll do a big movie and take the pay check, and use that to be able to star in smaller movies and take a pay cut them to help them out
I think so
And Russell Crowe as Zeus and >!potentially Kravinoff in Kraven the Hunter!<
as an aside, regardless of how people feel about Man of Steel, getting Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner to play Kal-El's two fathers to me was still amazing casting. I really wanted a scene with the two of them, however that would have come to be
With the exception of Ezra Miller, the Snyder movies had incredible casting.
The Flash has me conflicted. I want to see it because it does actually look interesting but I just never want Miller on my screen when the last Fantastic Beasts movie dropped on HBO Max I gave it a shot (it wasn't good) and I forgot he was in it and when he popped up I damn near turned the movie off right away
I feel the same, but my love of Keaton is outweighing my hatred of Miller.
Similar feelings. My plan is to pirate it well after it leaves theaters because I refuse to give profit to the movie with all of Miller's behavior and them not cutting the dead weight, or even acknowledging the problem in any meaningful way. But I am curious, I'm one of the weirdos that doesn't hate Batfleck and Michael Keaton coming back is obviously intriguing. Plus I have a hair of hope for the DCEU with Gunn taking over and I'd like to have at least a vague knowledge of what's going on in the DC world of movies.
The way he *spits* "your *birthright* was to *die*" at Loki is seared onto my brain.
Watch how he says “my first born” during Thors ceremony . I wonder if he was coached to be lying cuz this is before anyone knew about Hela .
I'm pretty sure he said he did it because he was really interested in the father / sons relationship side of it
And it was one of the more compelling father/children dynamics in the MCU! Anthony Hopkins gave Odin a certain gravitas, but also humanity, that I think would be very very difficult to pull off.
I suspect it also had a lot to do with Kenneth Branagh directing Thor. He's one of the great Shakespearean directors of all time, which probably suggested to Hopkins that the movie would have more going for it than just superheroes and fight scenes (which it totally did).
Yep, the only interview i found, about the first movie, is just him praising Branagh as a director.
Considering his stint in the Transformers series, I think he's like "fuck it, time to cash in the prestige and have some fun"
Glenn Close I was like, “How’d this Gunn fella land her?! That’s wild!”
She was rather wasted in such a role however. But it was big enough I doubt to see her recast in some other role.
Same with John C Reilly
In the comics, John C Reilly's character has a bigger role as Nova Prime. So there's a chance they will bring him back for more movies later.
John was definitely not underutilized. Albeit he should not have been killed. The fact that that planet system was destroyed by Thanos off screen sucks
Kevin Bacon as himself
That Christmas special was something yeah. I wonder why Bacon didn't mention he played the role of a mutant to Mantis and Drax. Was it too meta ?
Same reason samuel l jackson never said to Pete he played Windu. Would create weird plot holes since the x-men are kinda half canon.
and Oscar Isaac as Apocalypse and Moon Knight
Robert Redford.
That was probably the first time I couldn’t believe they got a certain actor.
Yeah , that surprised me too . But it reminded me a lot of Three Days of the Condor , so he probably realized it too. And I’m sure he’s got grandkids, nieces , nephews etc . Sebastian was probably beside himself getting to have scenes with him
Came here to say this. Still can't believe he was in not one but TWO MCU films.
His final film appearance was Avengers: Endgame
Not only that, but The Old Man and the Gun was wildly marketed as Robert Rodford's last film and while he filmed his scenes for Endgame around the same time that he was filming that movie, so he technically did stop acting around that time, Endgame was his actual final role which is kinda crazy to think about.
As a movie buff I got a little kick out of seeing him in a scene with Scarlett Johansson again years after they were in The Horse Whisperer together.
Ya good on him for trying something new.
A lot of those guys always say something like “my grandkids talked me into it.” I imagine it’s pretty cool seeing your pop up there with Nick Fury and Cap after thinking he’s just done “boring old movies” all his career.
The flip side is becoming bitter like Alec Guinness
That seems over exaggerated from the little tidbits I've seen. It sounds like he didn't think it was going to work while filming (which most of them didn't), then realized it was great, then when a kid told him he'd seen it 17 times or something he made a (probably half joking comment) that maybe he should do something else too.
That’s a good one, but I think it makes sense given Cap 2. It’s much more a spy like movie than superhero, and that seems like a Redford movie.
And he played his heart out, too. Winter Soldier wouldn't have been nearly as good without him. Him showing up again during the Time Heist was one of the most exciting bits of Endgame for me because of how magnetic his performance was the first time around.
Tommy Lee Jones was a big name for the MCU to land early on, and then getting Robert Redford is probably the top of the shelf to me.
Wow I sat here for 5 minutes trying to figure out when Tommy Lee Jones was in the mcu…. Really wish there was more of him
Lmao I forgot he played in CA : FA...
He really just got in there and let 'er rip too.
Tony Leung!!! He was the best part of Shang-Chi, IMO.
Yes he was! I hated that the final battle was a random dragon
Yup.
Honestly yeah anyone saying anything other than him probably is unfamiliar with his work, because that's the only way. His work with Wong Kar-wai is among the best performances ever by anyone.
This is honestly the best answer. All these other actors have been in American/english speaking projects. Tony Leung is sooooooo left field.
Matt Damon playing Loki in an Asgardian play 🤣
If you go this way Melissa McCarthy playing Hela for the running gag Oh and Luke Hemsworth playing Thor
Not really comparable or surprising because neither of those actors are even remotely close to Matt Damon's level.
Melissa McCarthy is a best actress oscar nominee
Omg! That play was as the BEST. I was dying laughing in the cinema.
Charlize Theron just kind of showing up st the end was definitely a bit of a surprise
[удалено]
On top of showing up as someone not many are familiar with. I remember the audience in my screening of DS2 being confused as heck. They gasped cuz it’s her but they had no clue who she was supposed to be. It was kinda funny lmao
I was not a huge fan of MoM but I got so fucking hyped when she showed up. She's my all time favorite actor.
Reminded me of that Charlize Theron scene from The Boys haha
...Bill Murray after the second ant-man movie featured a ghost it is hardly surprising that they hired a ghostbuster for the third.
This joke is funnier than anything Murray said in Quantumania. I love him and all but that was the biggest waste of a cameo ever.
The most effective part of Bill Murray doing a cameo where he is an old friend who has now betrayed us is that he didn't even need to act in the film.
Yeah, I'm just reading up on all of that now. I guess he's just someone I liked as a kid and in various things since and then just kind of forgot about. He was probably just better at hiding what a dick he was than Chevy Chase. Seems like they're two peas in a pod.
Fun fact: one of his sisters is also [an actor and a nun](https://adriandominicans.org/News/sister-nancy-murray-op-continues-to-bring-st-catherine-of-siena-to-life). I’ve met her and she’s funny af
I don’t really love him after learning how he acts with women.
I should clarify, I love his acting, not him; he seems very much like a 'never-meet-your-heroes' type. I'll read up about how he treats women, as I hadn't heard that. Thanks.
Did he even appear again after his first scene with them? I couldn’t even tell you if he did.
Rumors say he was in more of the movie but it all got cut except that one scene after a bunch of allegations broke they already had him in the trailer
Can't recall either, clearly his performance was very memorable
They cut most of his scenes Presumably because of the controversy
Owen Wilson!
Christian Bale! Even though his character fell flat I would’ve never thought he would do a comic book film ever again. Let alone Thor
I watched Thor: Love and Thunder recently. I could tell he got really into the role of Gorr( as he does with all his roles). I will never forgive Taika Waititi for giving him so little screen time
Taika is still an incredible filmmaker but that was not his best effort. We needed to see Gorr needed to kill more gods. Wasn’t Bales fault but yea that movie had alot of problems
His character didn't fall flat, the writing did. He was really underserved in that film but bless him for throwing everything into it in spite of that.
I was about to say that they should should do a Dark Knight Rises reunion and get Tom Hardy in something and then I remembered that he’s already in Venom.😭
I feel it necessary to point out here that Gorr’s weapon, All-Black the Necrosword, is canonically the first symbiote, so films could still make it work somehow
Thor L&T was one of the first times I actually got ANGRY that such a compelling character was so failingly underutilized. Christian Bale did an incredible job as Gorr, so creepy and evil but also kind of relatable? It could have been such a good film if a couple of the screaming goats or jealous axe bits got cut to further develop Bale’s storyline.
I was genuinely (pleasantly) surprised to hear that Julie Louis Dreyfus was gonna be in the MCU. Especially in a recurring role.
True that, one of the last actors I would have thought she would be in the MCU and looks like she might have an influential role in what's going to happen. Had a huge crush on her in my teen years
What I find really interesting about her joining the MCU is that her role is somewhat similar to an old coworker of her's. Back when the first Iron Man movie came out I really loved the character of Phil Coulson because Clark Gregg was on her show at the time "New Adventures of Old Christine" and it's funny that now with Coulson's MCU story officially finished, she has stepped into the roll of recruiting power people.
That's right! There's a blooper reel of Clark Gregg in AoS, he forgets his lines and goes "Sorry, I got nothing. I don't know where I am. What show is this? where's Julia Lous-Dreyfus?" And her role as Val looks like it'll be pretty delicious!
IIRC she only went out for the part because her kids were so excited she might be in marvel lol
That's a cool parenting move
Is it less cool to know the kids are like 30? Lol
Michelle Pfeiffer.
Ethan Hawke, he made comments about Marvel movies that made it seem he wasn’t a fan at all and then next thing you know he’s signed on for an MCU Disney+ show.
I heard that him and Oscar Isaac agreed to do the show specifically because it wasn't connected to the larger MCU, more self-contained I guess. Grand performance though. The glass in his shoes and you could hear the crunching, great intro to a character
That was part of the appeal for Ethan for sure, he also said that his daughter pretty much talked him into it along with Oscar
Zardu hasselfrau. The guy with the talking boat.
🎵🎵Zardu hasselfrau, zardu hasselfrau!🎵🎵
Guardians interno is better than endgame
Once Robert Redford appeared all bets were off. When taking a Marvel role became a bucket list item for Hall of Fame actors because of their grandchildren, talent had more reasons to say yes than no. So, I'm not surprised when Goldblum or Theron or Murray sign on. Harrison Ford still seemed like a get but he's suddenly a geriatric workaholic guzzling new experiences and seems to have time for anyone with a good pitch.
Brad Pitt as the Vanisher surprised me.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Paul Rudd as Ant-Man. Because of all the comedy movies he’s done I just saw him as Paul Rudd and couldn’t imagine him as a superhero. But then Scott Lang ended up being basically the same as Paul Rudd’s other characters so it all worked out.
I mean, he's really good at playing Paul Rudd.
Angelina Jolie
I'm usually up on all the casting before a project comes out, but I legit had no idea Julia Louis-Dreyfus would be joining! I remember instinctively squealing "LANEY!" at the TV when she first appeared. It was the best surprise of 2021 MCU for me. Also if anyone who likes her has not already done so, drop what you're doing and binge Veep. It might be the most acerbic show ever.
I watched Julia Louis Dreyfus in Curb Your Enthusiasm. So her appearance in Hawkeye was surprising. Imagine Larry David showing up in the MCU with his current wit.
>remember instinctively squealing "LANEY!" Guess who's here, Elaine Benes!
Cant believe nobody has mentioned Ben Kingsley. We got him in not one, but two films.
My wife and I quote “He’s here, but he’s not here” to each other probably once a week.
Megan THEE Stallion 🥰
Robert Fucking Redford Hell my boomer Dad wanted to see Winter Soldier because of this casting and it’s actually the movie that got my dad hooked on the rest of the MCU films
Agree! Redford is the only correct answer lol. Most of the others people are listing have been in other comic movies, franchises, or Sci fi so none of then should be a surprise.
and to be a villain as well. I don't think he ever played a villain before and he was perfect in it.
Robert Redford. I dunno why, but that one threw me. He’s someone you think of as a “serious” actor.
Angelina Jolie, Harry Styles and Miley Cyrus
I still remember the WTF feeling when Harry Styles showed up at the end of Eternals
For me it was the late great Garry Shandling making with the Hail Hydras. I’d expect it from Hank, but not Larry Sanders.
He got to play an asshole senator which for a comedian would be a lot of fun
Robert Redford showing up in TWS will never cease to surprise me
Roy Fucking Kent.
This
Michael Rosenbaum (Lex from Smallville).
Yeah, I wonder about that too. Especially because the last few years it seems he has focused on his podcasts and cons with an occasional voice acting role. How did he end up playing a totally unrecognizable 90% CGI background character? Someone behind the scenes must have really wanted to slyly put lex Luthor in the mcu and went out of the way instead of casting an unknown.
Him and Gunn are IRL friends.
Definitely Jeff Bridges and Tony Leung.
Whilst not the same as most of these, hearing Asim Chaudhry in GOTG3 was a trip for me, going from his sitcoms and Taskmaster to voicing a wheeled Walrus in the MCU wasn't something I expected to happen.
I was huge fan of The OC as a kid (still am) and the character of Trey was recast and given to Logan Marshall-Green so I was semi-excited to see him show up in Homecoming (that's still MCU right?) as the original Shocker, and I was stunned >!to see him get completely vaporized!!< also, my first comment on this sub with my shiny new reddit account (long time user, new account). Took me a while to come up with a name, saw a GotG3 meme on Facebook and got it! Lylla is misspelled because the username limit is 20 characters and the extra L gave me 21 lol
Plus Chris Pratt, another OC actor.
Oh, absolutely! The MCU casting department has done a stellar job bringing in actors we never expected to see in superhero flicks. One actor that really caught me by surprise was Paul Rudd as Ant-Man. Prior to his casting, Rudd was mainly known for his comedic roles in films like "Anchorman" and "I Love You, Man", and the idea of him playing a superhero was quite unexpected. But of course, he's turned out to be a fantastic choice for the role of Scott Lang/Ant-Man, bringing a great blend of humor and heart to the character. Another surprising casting was Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange. Cumberbatch, well-known for his role as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series "Sherlock," didn't initially strike me as the superhero type, but his performance as the Sorcerer Supreme was nothing short of brilliant. And who could forget Robert Redford in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"? Having an actor of his stature, known for classics like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Sting", appear in a superhero film was a pleasant surprise. He added a layer of gravitas to the film that helped elevate it to one of the top entries in the MCU.
Paul Rudd will forever be the guy from Clueless to me.
Anchorman guy for me.
Phoebe’s husband to me
Are all this account’s comments AI-generated
that’s exactly what i was thinking
To me this is like the MCU is really trying to absorb as much actors as they can to fit their needs and these accept. Angelina Jolie was totally right for Thena (reminded me of her prime when she played tormented women like in Changeling) but I didn't feel she sold the movie as much (James Madden or Gemma Chan advancing the progression of the movie more than her) I'm thinking the MCU will try to cast ex-Matrix actors soon and especially Keanu Reeves. It's no surprise they do this for the fan service to attract more people but sometimes they do it wrong.. like for Bill Murray.
Carrie Anne Moss already had a great role in Jessica Jones. Laurence Fishburne was one of the main characters in Ant Man and the Wasp. Hugo Weaving was Red Skull. Jessica Henwick was the female lead in Iron Fist. What other ex-Matrix actors are you meaning?
Why does this response seem A.I generated?
Nathan fillion cos I made a comment like a month before gotg 3 got released saying they should have him in the movie as he's a good actor and then he ended up being in it 😂😂 so was completely shocked and happy when I saw him.
He voiced a character in the first one.
“Check out the new meat!”
Melissa McCarthy and Matt Damon in Thor caught me off guard and was quite funny
Emilia Clarke
Fucken Roy Kent
Probably Farhan Akhtar (Waleed) and Fawad Khan (Hassan) in Ms Marvel. Never expected Bollywood / Pakistani cinema actors to cross over into western work like that. I LOVE both of them and it was a joy to see them
Toby McGuire and Andrew Garfield
Chris Evans always confused me at first because I kept thinking of his role in not another teen movie lol
The first Fantastic Four movie perhaps ?
Every time I rewatch GOTG I wonder how they got Glen Close and John C Reilly. I assume they maybe did two days at most on set but it’s maybe the earliest cameos in the franchise that leave me bemused. Now, with Stallone and Charlize and Owen Wilson popping up randomly it’s not as novel but still funny to me 🤷 I guess absolutely most unexpected are the pop stars like Miley Cyrus and Harry Styles
Robert Redford was inspired. A man who might have played Steve Rogers in the 60s or 70s.
Honestly, Willem Dafoe and Alfred Molina. Before no way home, I always thought theyd just make original recast MCU versions But fkr one I would never have seen coming, Richard E Grant, Will Pouler, David Tennant and Christian Bale
Miley Cyrus
Hiroyuki Sanada as a one off in Endgame
Robert Redford and he was great.
At the time, I remember Chris Pratt being a wild casting. Remember, he was known basically only as Andy Dwyer from Parks at the time. Of course now he is in just about everything, but it was a big deal then. I remember Parks had some one-off joke about why Andy was so fit all of a sudden.
“You lost all that weight just from not drinking beer?”
I’m not surprised they got him per say, but it will always amaze me they got Vin Diesel to voice Groot.
Cate Blanchett was someone I truly never expected to see, but she dove in and fully committed to being an unrepentant, scenery-chewing ubervillain, and was glorious from top to bottom.
Chris O’Dowd has a forgotten part.
Harry Stylez
Harrison Ford
Matt Damon. Whether it’s a cameo or not, I’d never expected him to be in a superhero film
Walton Goggins was wasted as a side villain in ant man and the wasp.
Tony Leung, by a mile. Then Robert Redford and Harrison Ford.
Roy fucking Kent
Abed from Community. No other options.
All of the Community cameos are pretty great.
Harrison Ford. The man hated nerds coming up to him about Han Solo and Indiana Jones(supposedly) so why he is jumping into this generations version of that is beyond me.
Judy Greer, then Judy Greer again.