Vin Diesel: Ten Marvel Comics Roles He Might Be Up For

Ever since news broke last night that Fast & Furious star Vin Diesel was taking a meeting with Marvel Studios for a mystery role in an upcoming film, the comics Internet has been abuzz, wondering who he might be playing. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is about to undergo some major growth, though, and it's hard to narrow down just who a star of Diesel's caliber and talents might be playing, since we're ramping up to see a number of heroes for the first time. Who do we think are the best possibilities? Read on... Rocket Raccoon/Groot The animated voices at the heart of Guardians of the Galaxy haven't yet been cast--as far as we know. And Vin Diesel has a great, recognizable voice and has done animation work in the past. It seems a pretty natural fit...

Doctor Strange We discussed this a bit in our earlier story; word around the entertainment press has it that Marvel has huge faith in their choice for Stephen Strange, and that they expect the character and the actor to be a standout and someone they can build a franchise around, a la Robert Downey, Jr.'s Tony Stark. If that's all true, finding an A-lister to fill the role makes a lot of sense. Then again, it's hard to imagine Diesel playing an elite surgeon... Ant-Man You get the same suspension of disbelief problem with Diesel playing a super-smart guy here, but Ant-Man is another film that's due for a big Comic-Con announcement. If Diesel were to ink a deal between now and then and be introduced onstage as the star of Ant-Man or one of the other films, it could be huge for all involved.

Wonder Man/Vision We're compiling these guys into one character for obvious reasons. They're very connected characters, historically, and it's unlikely that both will be introduced in the same film, so the odds are as good it's one as the other. This one goes back to the fact that there have been rumors out there in the aether since January or so that Marvel might be eying Diesel for the role of Vision. Could they finally be ready to commit? Black Bolt If there's anyone on whom Diesel's distinctive voice would be more wasted on than Groot, it's Black Bolt--a guy who cannot speak for fear of killing those around him. That makes it seem unlikely, but at the same time it seems as though franchises like Guardians of the Galaxy and The Inhumans will need all the star power they can wrangle to make their films more marketable.

Black Panther It seems pretty unlikely to us, if only because we have a hard time imagining Diesel affecting a convincing African accent. Still, it's long been rumored that Black Panther was in development, and the number of nonwhite leading men who can easily headline their own action franchise is pretty small. Diesel is certainly on that list, and so if this is "just a talk," Marvel could be trying to convince themselves one way or the other with the meeting as much as they are auditioning him. Adam Warlock Diesel has proven that he's got both the stage presence and the ability to be aloof that a character like Adam Warlock requires. Even in a group of aliens and misfits in Guardians of the Galaxy, I could see him standing out, using that vacant stare and monotone voice that he sometimes affects to feel cold, distracted and above it all. Ares He could sure pull off the look, which is probably why we're hearing some fans suggest this. Doing a third Avengers movie that's a bit darker in tone, or one that uses Hercules so that Thor can have some downtime and Chris Hemsworth doesn't burn through his contract right away, could actually help to shake things up when, after two films, it's not new and shiny anymore. Still, we're not convinced it's particularly likely.

Thanos This one might be the most likely name, since we already know he's going to be playing a role and the villain--a major component of at least two upcoming Marvel films--appeared (but didn't speak) in Marvel's The Avengers. Once again we'll fall back on what a great voice Diesel has for animation. Kingpin This one might seem like a longshot, but hear us out: Joe Carnahan had a great sizzle reel for the property just before it reverted from Fox, and many fans figured that might be a proof-of-concept for Marvel to show that Daredevil can work for a wider audience. Taking a superhero movie down to the street level would not only provide the genre diversity that Marvel is so fond of, but also, if they could get it  off the ground quick enough, provide a Batman-like franchise in a market full of over-powered supers and no Batman movie planned for the foreseeable future. That Michael Clarke Duncan received such raves for his role as Kingpin would make it not entirely unlikely that the character could continue along as a man of color, rather than reverting to the classic look from the comics. Diesel, meanwhile, is one of a handful of leads in all of Hollywood who can intimidate the way Duncan could. And, of course, as I've been typing this it's been called to my attention that Latino Review's El Mayimbe is teasing a Daredevil development at Marvel Studios...