The age of comic book movies is in full swing, with a handful of films dropping next year alone, the options for actors who are portraying a beloved character are seemingly endless! In this list, we’ll look at the actors that we’re most excited for coming up in the world of superheroes, whether that be a certain Merc with a Mouth or a Clown Prince of Crime, odds are good that we’ll get a few amazing performances from these films on the horizon. I think sometime we take for granted the plethora of material that we’re getting when it comes to the movie that are dropping in the future, but I can tell you that I remain really optimistic and excited to see storylines such as Civil War hit the big screen with high caliber actors bringing them to the public at large.
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Granted, you can make the argument that we’re reaching a level of oversaturation, but for the moment, I’m excited to see some of my favorite actors bring to life some of my favorite characters. With that, let’s dive right in!
Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool
Deadpool becoming a standalone movie is a miracle. Reynolds, and the character of Wade Wilson, was actually the high point of the widely panned Wolverine: Origins, in which Reynolds provided the opening of the film with some much needed levity and dry wit. It wasn’t quite the Wade we knew, especially when they decided to staple his mouth shut later on in the film and give him every mutants’ powers for some reason, but it gave us a glimpse at the Wade we could have. When a Deadpool script had leaked onto the internet later on describing the adventures of a fully costumed Wilson, slicing, dicing, and quipping his way across the silver screen, fans were excited but the movie was placed into development hell. It was only until a cgi screen test was released online that fan interest reached a peak and Fox decided to take a chance by greenlighting the effort.
Ryan Reynolds is the perfect man for the job in terms of bringing the Merc with a Mouth to life. If you’ve seen some of his better works, his charisma and ability to sling witty retorts at a frantic pace is staggering. Take a chance to watch movies like Blade Trinity and Just Friends to show his chops in this department, while steering clear of Green Lantern of course. The trailers and materials we’ve seen so far from Deadpool have been top notch and I’m counting the days for February to arrive.
Jared Leto as the Joker
One of the most controversial choices on the list, Leto’s Joker will be appearing in 2016’s Suicide Squad from Warner Brothers. When the first image of Jared as the Clown Prince of Crime dropped, fans were somewhat taken aback. The tattoos and the grill didn’t instill a lot of confidence, though with the released footage from the upcoming film, I think a lot of people have looked past that to see what could very well be a nuanced yet terrifying portrayal. The Joker was always going to be a role that was filled with controversy, especially the actor who had to fill the role of Heath Ledger’s performance in the Dark Knight.
However, Leto’s apparently going far and beyond the call of duty with this one, going so far as to never hang out with his cast mates to further delve into the role, along with sending them each “presents” as the Joker, like bullet casings and live rats. While he may be the most radical interpretation of the character we’ve seen yet, I’m still looking forward to see what Jared is able to do while fighting Batman and a team full of super villains.
Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn
This one’s been a long time coming. Ever since debuting in the Batman Animated Series so long ago, Harley Quinn has stormed her way into becoming a pop culture phenom. It was only a matter of time until she was able to find herself in a comic book movie, and Suicide Squad will give her that opportunity. Joining the ragtag band of super villains working for the government, Robbie’s Harleen Quinzel will apparently be shown first as her more rational self within the walls of Arkham Asylum as a psychiatrist, only to eventually become the super villain we’ve all grown so accustomed to.
Robbie is a fantastic choice for Quinn, almost looking ripped right out of her appearance from the Arkham Asylum game series, but not so much from her original appearances in the comics and animated series. On a similar vein as Leto’s Joker, her appearance caused a little controversy but again, her role in the Squad is one of the most anticipated within the film to be sure.
Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther
T’Challa, the Black Panther, is the king of Wakanda and so he needs an authoritative, powerful actor to bring him to life. None other than Chadwick Boseman was given this task, with his first appearance set in the upcoming Marvel flick, Captain America: Civil War. While which side he chooses is still a little murky, rest assured that the Panther is set to make a big splash into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Boseman himself is a fantastic actor, knocking out of the park with his prior films such as “Get On Up” and “42”.
We haven’t yet heard T’Challa deliver a line of dialogue, or even seen him underneath the mask during the Civil War trailer, but rest assured, Marvel has big plans for the character and Boseman will be a heavy part of the MCU moving forward.
Tom Holland as Spider-Man
Obviously, this may be the most anticipated on the list. Spider-Man’s entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe was long thought to be an impossibility, but here we are! When the news was revealed that a bargain had been met by the two movie studios to allow Peter Parker to stand toe to toe with his fellow Avengers, all seemed right in the world. Little did we know, that he’d be appearing so early following the reveal with his first official movie alongside Iron Man and Captain America would be in Civil War.
While Tom Holland is still a fairly young actor, he’s been in a few movies himself including “The Impossible” and “In the Heart of the Sea”. If you’ve checked out his videos online, he’s clearly gearing up to be the wallcrawler through some serious acrobatic training. Looking forward to seeing his performance and what the future holds for Spider-Man.