After the success of Black Panther, Marvel is no doubt keen to jump back into the black-superhero market. Black Panther wasn’t the first black superhero to headline a big screen film (see the Blade trilogy, Spawn, Catwoman, Steel, Hancock), but he was the first to prove that the right combination of factors (actors, directing, writing, marketing) leads to piles and piles of money. And it all starts with the right actor in the lead role.
According to the AV Club, John Boyega is in talks to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The actor was careful to state that “this would be way down the line and most likely wouldn’t be happening in the near future.” He also clarified that he would not be attempting to take on the role of Blade (played by Wesley Snipes in three movies). As for taking on a different superhero role in the MCU, Boyega said that he has had “meetings with Marvel about potentially taking on a Marvel superhero.”
With Avengers: Infinity War expected to shake up the MCU by having supervillain Thanos terminate contracts and remove mandated appearance clauses, Marvel executives are no doubt scrambling to find a new generation of box-office superheroes. Boyega, fresh from a successful string of appearances in the latest Star Wars trilogy, would be a top choice to headline any number of films. But which Marvel superhero could Boyega portray? And would it specifically be a role for a black actor, or will they adapt a comic book character who isn’t necessarily black? Here are some possibilities:
Moon Knight: basically Batman with multiple personalities, ex-Marine Marc Spector gained his super-powers after being visited by the Egyptian moon god Khonshu. Moon Knight’s strength, endurance, and reflexes are enhanced depending upon the phases of the moon. It’s probably never going to happen, but I think it would be awesome.
Wonder Man: one of the Avengers in the comics who has yet to see the light of day in the MCU, Wonder Man was Iron Man’s rival, and a supervillain who eventually became a good guy. He received his ionic-energy-based super powers from Baron Zemo, who you may remember from Captain America: Civil War.
Captain Britain: since Boyega is British, this would help him lose that pesky movie-star American accent. Captain Britain is the twin of X-Men’s Psylocke, so this one is likely to get messy unless the Disney/Fox merger officially happens. This Captain has ties to everyone from Spider-Man to Captain America and Captain Marvel, so he could feature heavily in the next wave of the MCU. Or he could be ignored completely.
Patriot: a possible candidate to take up the Captain America shield after Steve Rogers retires from the MCU. Patriot was part of the Young Avengers, so this is unlikely, especially since we’ll need a new Captain America sooner rather than later.
Blue Marvel: asked to retire by JFK during the civil rights movement once it was discovered that he was black, this one would be racially charged. Blue Marvel has ties to Black Panther, Ant-Man, and Captain Marvel, and he is strong enough to move meteors, so he has that going for him.
Who would you like to see Boyega play in the MCU? Let us know in the comments below.
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