Jenna Ortega was asked about joining the MCU this weekend, and she reminded her interviewer that she has technically already been in it. The 22-year-old rising star had a non-speaking role in Iron Man 3, and this weekend she told Entertainment Tonight that she actually had lines and a character name before when she was shooting. All of her lines were cut in the editing process, but she is still shown for a lingering shot where she fills the screen. Ortega seemed pretty indifferent about making a more grand appearance in the MCU down the line, but the door is definitely open.
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Ortega was with her Death of a Unicorn co-star Paul Rudd this weekend when she was asked about her own prospects in the MCU. She pointed out that she already “did it once,” adding, “It was one of the first jobs I ever did. They took all my lines out. I’m in Iron Man 3 for a quick second. I take up the frame, I have one leg, and I’m the vice president’s daughter.”
To Ortega, this seemed to mean her stint at Marvel was over with, but Rudd disagreed. “Marvel is very good at, like, kind of laying those breadcrumbs, and so it might very well be that you come back,” he said. That they are going to create something for you, ’cause they should be so lucky to have Jenna Ortega in their franchise.”
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“They even took my name away. I count that, and then I move on,” Ortega retorted. Of course, the actress doesn’t necessarily need for the platform of the MCU right now — she’s found a lot of success in other venues, including the movie she and Rudd were there to promote. Death of a Unicorn is a horror-comedy hitting theaters in the U.S. on Friday, March 28th, and it shows ever sign of being a huge success.
In the movie, Rudd plays a PR expert in crisis management named Elliot, while Ortega plays his daughter Ridley. They are on their way to Elliot’s boss’ house together when they accidentally hit a unicorn with their car. They bring this injured mythical creature with them, only for Elliot’s boss’ family to immediately begin looking for ways to exploit its supernatural powers. The other unicorns in this remote forest are not too happy about that.
Outside of that, Ortega has successful projects like Wednesday, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and Scream behind her, and plenty of other big titles on the horizon. Her IMDb page currently has five upcoming projects listed, including Hurry up Tomorrow and The Gallerist in post-production. That’s not to say that her star power wouldn’t be welcome in the MCU, but it doesn’t seem like either side is vying for that deal right now, anyway.
Death of a Unicorn hits theaters in the U.S. on Friday, March 28th. Iron Man 3 is streaming now on Disney+.
