With all the speculation surrounding Doctor Strange, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, it’s easy to forget that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is not at a loss for heroes, but for villains.With bad guy du jour Loki more or less confirmed not be appearing in The Avengers 2, it would seem like the perfect occasion for Joss Whedon to break out Thanos; that’s if the Mad Titan hasn’t already made his way into Guardians of the Galaxy, which, though also part of Phase Two, is due out next year.
Having already cameoed in the post-credit sequence of the original Avengers, played by jobbing TV actor Damion Poitier, rumours suggest that the role will be recast. With the Oscar-winning Benicio Del Toro officially set to join the MCU in Guardians and Avengers 2 in an as-yet unconfirmed capacity, it seems probable that the raspy-voiced, wolfish Puerto Rican actor will step in the role of The Avenger’s greatest threat. It sounds, in all honesty, like a great piece of casting.
Here, however, are a few other faces we could see stepping into mo-cap as the hulking, purple Eternal.
5. Tom Waits
He’s definitely an out-of-the-box choice, but West Coast troubadour Tom Waits definitely has the gravitas and the gravelly larynx necessary for the universe destroyer. Assuming that playing the part of Thanos won’t be a simple matter of weightlifting and prosthetics, Waits could be in with a shot: his acting career spans thirty years and has seen him work with the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Jack Nicholson, and Francis Ford Coppola. Anybody who can pull off a performance of The Devil as a bowler-hatted, chain-smoking boho has got to be able to bring something to a character that could otherwise could across as a one-dimensional megalomaniac.
By coincidence, the next name on our list to play Thanos has also been mooted to play Waits in the event of a biopic. Small world, huh?
4. Ron Perlman
With his expressive Cro-Magnon features and rumbling baritone, Ron Perlman seems like a natural fit for the villain (he played skinhead mercenary Reinhardt in Blade II and has voiced just about every Batman villain from Bane to Killer Croc). He certainly has experience with heavy prosthetics, too, from his time as the eponymous hero in Guillermo Del Toro‘s Hellboy series; given how long it’s taken to convince him to make himself available for Hellboy 3, largely due to the makeup requirements, it seems Perlman’s Thanos would have to be a CGI job.
His role as motorcycle club leader Clay Morrow on FX’s Sons of Anarchy doesn’t seem to have limited his availability too much – aside from the 13 projects he’s got listed on IMDb for this year and next, Perlman’s also appearing in GDT’s upcoming Pacific Rim -, but Perlman may ultimately be too wryly likeable to capture Thanos’ utter malevolence.
3. Vin Diesel
Out of all the actors on list, Vin Diesel is the only one that seems to have been held in serious consider for an appearance in the MCU: apparently he has, at least, met with officials from the studio. Though mostly held in contention by fans to play the role of synthetic Avenger Vision, his breakout lead as menacing, cat-eyed convict Riddick in Pitch Black suggests that Diesel is capable of more than just XxX or an endless succession of Fast & Furious. His voice, like ice breaking, and his physique are fairly compatible with Thanos, though he may not possess the physical presence of, for instance, No’s 4 and 2.
One thing seems certain, however: Diesel’s appearance in a superhero movie is just a matter of time.
2. Arnold Schwarzenegger
Probably the most controversial pick on this list, the world’s premier Austrian action hero and former Governor of California blew any goodwill he might have had with comic book fans with his pun-ishing take on Mr. Freeze in Joel Schumacher‘s execrable Batman & Robin. Still, recently returned from the world of politics and pushing 60, Schwarzenegger has been making a belated comeback, though the films he’s used as vehicles to do have generally been forgettable. It might be a crazy thought, but why not incorporate him into The Avengers franchise? He’s too old to play one of the team (thirty years ago he might have made an amusing Thor), but the monstrous Thanos is still certainly in his wheelhouse.
Might that manic glint in his eye yet make up for the potential downsides of having an intergalactic villain so decidedly European in bearing? Only one way to find out…
1. Andre Braugher
A favorite if perhaps unexpected pick for the role, Andre Braugher has been stealing scenes since 1989. He may have started off in Kojak, but it was his role as the aggressively intellectual, morally uncompromising Detective Frank Pembleton in NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street that gained him an Emmy (and another nomination), providing a showcase for the steely resolve that marks each of his performances. He also played the lead, Captain Marcus Chaplin, in ABC’s quickly-cancelled Last Resort the previous year; in 2010, he voiced Darkseid in Superman/Batman: Apocalypse and, three years before that, played General Hager in the widely disregarded Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surface.
In short, Braugher’s credentials are not in question, and, like Harry J. Lennix in Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel, he demands consideration for meatier roles. Braugher’s Thanos would be a manipulative, shadowy presence capable of tremendous fury, unlike Benicio Del Toro or any of the others on this list. Like with everything else he’s in, Braugher would, simply put, elevate the part beyond mere villainy.
Do you think Benicio Del Toro’s supposed casting is definitive or would you rather see someone else in a quest for the Infinity Gems? Tom Waits too diminutive? Arnold Schwarzenegger too off-the-wall? Well, what would you suggest..?