'Avengers' Star Cobie Smulders Cast in ABC's 'Stumptown' Adaptation

ABC has found the lead for their Stumptown adaptation in The Avengers alum Cobie Smulders. New reports indicate the Marvel Cinematic Universe stalwart will be playing the show's lead Dex Parios.

Fans of the original Stumptown comic series from Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth will recognize Parios as the assertive, almost Jessica Jones-esque private investigator from Portland, Oregon. According to Variety, Smulders received a "substantial payday" for signing on board the pilot.

If Stumptown is ordered to series, it'd up being Smulder's first regular television role since CBS' How I Met Your Mother ended. As of late, Smulders had been starring in Netflix's Friends From College, a series the streaming giant cancelled earlier this month.

In an interview with OPR in 2017, Rucka explained he enjoyed writing Parios so much because she was a "hot mess."

"She's a hot mess. I adore her," Rucka reflected. "There's a great [Raymond] Chandler line where he says, 'The detective in the story must be the best man in his world and a good enough man for any world.' This is the 'down these mean streets a man must go, who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid.'"

"They're characters who, in one way or another, have to remove themselves from mainstream," he continued. "They don't get what we get. They stand on this border, in this liminal space where they can enter any situation."

Jason Richman (Detroit 187) has been tapped to showrun and will receive an executive producer credit alongside Rucka and Southworth. Justin Greenwood is also set to produce with Ruben Fleischer (Venom) and Dave Bernad under their The District banner.

Smulders' next MCU appearance will likely come in Spider-Man: Far From Home on July 5th. Other upcoming Marvel Studios properties include Captain Marvel on March 8th and Avengers: Endgame on April 26th.

Are you excited to see Stumptown adapted to live-action? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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