I’m Still Shocked Marvel Wasted One Of Their Best Actors 2 Times In 3 Years
Years later I still cannot believe that Marvel - in both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and otherwise - wasted an incredibly promising actor twice in the space of only three years. Since the franchise began, many MCU movies have hosted great actors. Be it Shakespearan performers like Anthony Hopkins or the immeasurably charming Robert Downey Jr., who is set for a return in the upcoming story of Avengers: Doomsday, the MCU has included many fantastic actors.
Beyond the MCU, other elements of the vast Marvel multiverse have followed suit. The timeline of the Fox X-Men movies has included the likes of Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, to name but a few. Given this track record, many will be hoping that upcoming Marvel movies continue this trend of hiring fantastic actors to play roles in the sprawling multiverse. However, one thing that many are hoping does not happen is a repeat of the time Marvel wasted the same fantastic, promising actor two different times, across two franchises, in only three years.
Bill Skarsgård Is A Perfect Actor For The Superhero Genre
Skarsgård Is More Than Capable Of Being An All-Time Superhero Performer
The actor in question is Bill Skarsgård. Before discussing how Marvel wasted his talents, however, it is worth exploring just why Skarsgård is such a perfect actor for the superhero genre. Although the Swedish actor has appeared in a large catalog of Hollywood projects, he is perhaps most synonymous with his horror-centric roles. Skarsgård portrayed Pennywise the Clown in IT and IT Chapter Two, terrifying audiences across the world with his creepy, unhinged performance.
The idea of an actor disappearing behind an incredibly powerful, oftentimes otherworldly hero - or villain - would fit Skarsgård perfectly...
In 2024, Skarsgård portrayed a similar role as the titular character, Count Orlok, in Nosferatu. Both of these roles required Skarsgård to disappear into an otherworldly character, be it a demonic clown intent on feasting on children or a vampiric count who wishes to spread a plague across the world. While the horror vibes may be best left behind, these roles would translate perfectly into the superhero genre. The idea of an actor disappearing behind an incredibly powerful, oftentimes otherworldly hero - or villain - would fit Skarsgård perfectly, making it all the more shocking that Marvel wasted him in two roles.
Eternals & Deadpool 2 Wasted Bill Skarsgård's Acting Talents
Neither The X-Men Franchise Nor The MCU Could Utilize Skarsgård As He Deserves
In 2018, Skarsgård appeared in Deadpool 2 as the character known as Zeitgeist. Despite never being an incredibly important character in Marvel Comics, Zeitgeist offered the Fox X-Men movies the chance to give Skarsgård a superhero role that lasted a few years. However, the film wasted him by giving him an incredibly small role that required little to no acting of note. The reason for this was Zeitgeist's role as a member of Deadpool 2's doomed X-Force team, with each character being introduced only to be swiftly killed gloriously for shock factor.
The disappointment with how Deadpool 2 wasted Skarsgård was palpable among audiences, yet 2021's Eternals had the chance to redeem this. Skarsgård was cast in the MCU movie as Kro, the leader of the villainous Deviants, the sworn enemies of the titular Marvel superteam. Unfortunately, Eternals wasted Skarsgård too. For one, Skarsgård's character was entirely CGI, meaning he only provided the voice for Kro. The actor did an admirable job, but his success in roles like Pennywise and Count Orlok stemmed from his physical presence as a menacing character.
Moreover, Kro was a red herring as the main villain of Eternals. Before the film was released, many assumed Kro and the Deviants would be the primary antagonists of the film due to the longstanding rivalry between the Eternals and their enemies in Marvel Comics. However, Kro and the Deviants were relegated to being secondary, even tertiary, villains, with the likes of Ikaris, Arishem, and other Celestials proving to be Eternals' twist villains. This gave Kro, and thus Skarsgård, less to do overall, resulting in another disappointing waste of a very talented actor by Marvel.
I Am Desperately Hoping Marvel Or DC Will Cast Bill Skarsgård In A Future Project
As I have made clear, I was overly disappointed with how Marvel handled Skarsgård in both Deadpool 2 and Eternals. With that in mind, I am hoping that either Marvel rectifies its mistakes and casts Skarsgård in another, bigger role that best suits his abilities, or that the studio's main rivals, DC, will give Skarsgård the role he deserves. The Marvel movies of 2025 will not feature Skarsgård, meaning it will have to be one of the unannounced Phase 6 or Phase 7 movies beyond Avengers: Secret Wars that feature the actor's comeback in the superhero genre.
Where the fledgling DCU is concerned though, Skarsgård may already have provided the perfect role for him, which I think would be a fantastic fit. In an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Skarsgård insisted that "I have a really f***ing cool Joker in me." This casting seems incredible on paper, with Skarsgård already having experience playing an evil clown in IT. While the Joker would undoubtedly be less supernatural, Skarsgård has proven to be perfect for this role. Even if this does not come to fruition, the creators of the DCU or MCU would be foolish not to snap up Skarsgård while they have the chance.
- Created by
- Kevin Feige
- Upcoming Films
- Blade, Avengers: Doomsday (2026), Avengers: Secret Wars
- First Film
- Iron Man
- First TV Show
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Upcoming TV Shows
- Marvel Zombies, Wonder Man, Vision Quest
- Cast
- Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton, Paul Rudd, Tom Holland, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Cobie Smulders, Brie Larson, Chadwick Boseman, Sebastian Stan, Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Pom Klementieff, Josh Brolin, Karen Gillan, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Simu Liu, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Angelina Jolie, Kit Harington, Salma Hayek, Richard Madden, Barry Keoghan, Gemma Chan, Ma Dong-seok, Brian Tyree Henry, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Lia McHugh, Jonathan Majors
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount's Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
