All 11 MCU Characters Who Were Recast by Marvel

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It’s hard to believe, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been around for almost 20 years! Many fans remember seeing the first Iron Man movie and immediately knowing it was something different. As with any long-running series, actors sometimes leave and are replaced. This can happen for various reasons – disagreements, busy schedules, or, sadly, due to an actor’s passing. We’re focusing on those instances where a role is passed from one actor to another, and not always by the original actor’s choice. However, to be considered, the actor did have to first appear in an MCU movie. This excludes characters like Kelly Hu’s Lady Deathstrike and other X-Men from the Fox films who were recast for Deadpool & Wolverine (and the same applies to Chris Evans’ Human Torch).

We weren’t counting actor changes for projects like Marvel Zombies. We’re focusing on instances where a live-action actor was permanently replaced by a different actor playing the same role. A voice actor taking over, even in shows like Marvel Zombies or What If…?, doesn’t count as a true recast. Also, we didn’t consider changes due to aging. For example, Abby Ryder Fortson played Cassie Lang in the first two Ant-Man movies, and Emma Fuhrmann took over the role for Avengers: Endgame because the character was supposed to be five years older – that wasn’t a recast. But when Fuhrmann was later replaced, that did count.

11) Cassie Lang

It’s understandable that Emma Fuhrmann replaced Abby Ryder Fortson as Cassie Lang in Avengers: Endgame – the character was meant to be 16, five years older than in Ant-Man and the Wasp. However, in the later film Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Fuhrmann was then replaced by Kathryn Newton, an actress known for her roles in Freaky, Blockers, and Pokémon Detective Pikachu.

10) Reed Richards

This casting felt more like a treat for fans than a serious introduction of Reed Richards into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For years, many online hoped to see John Krasinski from The Office play Mr. Fantastic, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness delivered. It’s curious that while Patrick Stewart, Hayley Atwell, Lashana Lynch, and Anson Mount resembled their established Marvel counterparts, Krasinski didn’t share that connection.

9) Mainframe

Mainframe is a small, talking robot head who joined Stakar Ogord’s Ravager team. You might recognize her voice from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – it was provided by Miley Cyrus! However, for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Tara Strong took over the role, having previously voiced Miss Minutes in Loki. The change in voice actors was simply due to Miley Cyrus’s busy schedule.

8) Howard Stark

Howard Stark has been played by multiple actors. We first see him as a younger man, portrayed by Gerard Sanders, in the opening of Iron Man. Later, in Captain America: The First Avenger, Dominic Cooper plays a younger version of the character. Because of these different portrayals, we consider John Slattery to have taken over the role from Sanders, rather than replacing Cooper. He’s the main actor who continues to play Howard Stark.

7) Hulk

Edward Norton and Mark Ruffalo portrayed Bruce Banner so differently that they almost seem like separate characters. However, Norton only appeared in The Incredible Hulk because Marvel Studios wanted an actor who was more of a team player. While not directly criticizing Norton, Marvel President Kevin Feige hinted that Norton didn’t quite fit that mold. Norton himself later explained that he preferred moving between different roles rather than committing to one character long-term.

6) Fandral

Zachary Levi originally auditioned for the part of Fandral in the first Thor movie, but couldn’t take it due to his work on Chuck. Josh Dallas then took on the role, but a similar situation happened during the making of Thor: The Dark World – Dallas had to drop out because of scheduling conflicts with Once Upon a Time. This allowed Levi to step in and play Fandral in The Dark World and briefly in Thor: Ragnarok.

5) Wiccan

This is a case of a character being played by different actors as they age, but it’s a little unusual. Julian Hilliard first portrayed Billy Maximoff in WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and then Joe Locke took on the role in Agatha All Along.

Interestingly, the Billy appearing in Agatha is just two years older than the Billy from Multiverse, making Hillard a more logical choice. However, Agatha revealed a shocking twist: the current Billy isn’t who he seems. He’s actually the body of a young man who died in a car accident, now inhabited by the soul of the Billy who vanished with Westview at the end of WandaVision.

4) Red Skull

As a huge Marvel fan, I always thought Hugo Weaving nailed the role of Red Skull in the first Captain America movie. It really seemed like that was it for the character, though. So I was surprised to see him pop up again in Avengers: Endgame! But here’s the thing – it wasn’t actually Weaving! It was Ross Marquand doing the performance, even though they did a great job of making him look and sound pretty similar. Apparently, Hugo turned down the role because the pay wasn’t great and he wasn’t super keen on revisiting the character or going through all that makeup again. It’s a shame, but hey, at least we got to see Red Skull back on screen!

3) Thanos

When Thanos first appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s actually actor Damion Poitier beneath the makeup, not Josh Brolin. Poitier wasn’t meant to play Thanos long-term; given that Thanos is such a major villain, the role eventually went to a more well-known actor, Josh Brolin, starting with Guardians of the Galaxy.

2) Thaddeus Ross

It initially seemed like General Thaddeus Ross, played by the late William Hurt in The Incredible Hulk, would only appear in that one film, much like other parts of it. However, as projects like She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and Captain America: Brave New World have demonstrated, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has actually incorporated elements from that movie, especially looking back now.

The first hint of a change came with William Hurt reprising his role as Ross. It was unexpected to see him in Captain America: Civil War after an eight-year gap since his last appearance. He continued playing the character in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Black Widow. Sadly, Hurt passed away in March 2022, preventing him from playing Ross in Brave New World, where the character is the villain. Harrison Ford took over the role, likely for a single appearance.

1) War Machine

Terrence Howard’s character, James Rhodes, directly addresses the audience with a promise to become War Machine in the future. While he did eventually participate in the final battle of Iron Man 2 against Whiplash and his drones, the role was then played by Don Cheadle instead of Howard.

When the first Iron Man movie was released, Howard’s influence in Hollywood was growing. At the time, Robert Downey Jr. was considered a risky choice for the role, so Howard earned the highest salary on the film. Typically, actors receive a raise for sequels, but Downey Jr. quickly became the biggest star of the franchise. As a result, his salary increased dramatically, while Howard’s pay not only stayed the same but was actually reduced. Don Cheadle joined the cast in 2010 and has been a consistent part of the films ever since, and many fans consider the casting change an improvement.

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2026-02-26 01:43