When you think of Iron Man, you probably envision Robert Downey Jr. The same principle applies to Captain America; If you conjure up an image of the First Avenger, then you are going to think of Chris Evans. The two actors have become almost inseparable from their Marvel Cinematic Universe roles, but fans will one day have to bid them farewell. At some point, the actor will depart from the blockbusting franchise, and fans have long wondered how Marvel Studios would handle the exits.
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Now, Kevin Feige is sharing his thoughts on the ordeal – so you may want to get some tissues handy.
In a recent interview with Toronto Sun, the head of Marvel Studios spoke about the future of the MCU and touched on the topic of recasting. When asked if he has thought about replacement routes, Feige said the studio could go several different ways.
For one, the studio could simply recast the roles by filling them with new actors who carry on. Think of how Don Cheadle took over Terrance Howard’s role as War Machine – or Mark Ruffalo taking on the Hulk after Ed Norton.
Another option would be for the studio to do what they did with Hank Pym in Ant-Man. The film aged the hero up and casted Michael Douglas portray the iconic hero.
“I think it could be either one,” Feige said. “These characters have been around for 50-plus years, and have been relatively ageless. Sometimes there are alternate stories where the character is younger than they usually are, or older, but they usually maintain a certain age.”
He continued, saying, “I think most of these characters that are iconic, like (James) Bond, like Batman, like Spider-Man, like Iron Man, someday will be portrayed by different actors. The good news right now is I don’t have to think about that for a long time. We have storylines for this cast for many years to come.”
Feige is not the first Marvel Studios creator to comment on the topic of recasting. Earlier this year, the Russo Brothers talked with Forbes about the situation.
“There has been talk of recasting some key roles, Iron Man for example,” Joe Russo said. “How much of a big decision is that, creatively and financially, and how much does it change the dynamic?”
“It’s almost impossible to replace Robert, he’s the biggest movie star in the world. One close up from Robert is worth another actor’s entire performance, he’s incredibly gifted and insanely talented,” he continued. “I think if and when he is done with the character I think you will find that Iron Man might disappear for a while. I think the only way that you could reboot that character is to give a generational gap that would allow another actor to at least have a chance to redefine that character without the enormous spectre of Robert hanging over it. There are so many characters in the Marvel universe that can pick up the ball and run without it through the next phase or two before you need to see Iron Man again, frankly.”
So, what do you think? How do you think Marvel Studios should approach the eventually issue of recasting its mightiest heroes?
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[H/T] Toronto Sun
