The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is renowned around the world for its star-driven superhero films. However, some bitterly regretted their participation in this entertainment machine, where their talent took second place.
Mickey Rourke – Ivan Vanko
In 2010, two years after his success in “The Westler”, Mickey Rourke agreed to play Ivan Vanko, the main antagonist in “Iron Man 2”. A role which greatly disappointed the actor due to the treatment reserved for his character.
“I explained to the writers and Jon Favreau that I wanted to bring depth and personality, in order to avoid making him just a murderous Russian thirsty for revenge. And they let me do that. Unfortunately, Marvel opted for the one-dimensional villain, so almost my entire performance was scrapped. It’s a shame, but that’s their problem. If they want to make soulless adaptations of comics, then I prefer not to participate in them,” he told the site Crave Online in 2011.
Idris Elba – Heimdall
In 2013, Idris Elba made his first appearance as Heimdall in “Thor: The Dark World”. A role that he will then reprise in “Thor: Ragnarok”, as well as for appearances in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Avengers: Infinity War”. A contractually obligatory presence for the actor who, after playing Nelson Mandela in “Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom”, spoke of a particularly painful experience when filming the second part of Thor.
“I had just filmed for eight months in South Africa. I came back to England, and the same day, I had to reshoot scenes for ‘Thor 2’. (…) I said to myself: ‘It’s torture, I don’t want to do that’. And my agent reminded me that I was contractually obliged to do it,” he explained in 2014 to the British site The Telegraph. “I had become Mandela, practically. And there I was with these stupid harnesses, this wig, this sword and these contact lenses. It broke my heart,” he added.
Christian Bale – Gorr the Butcher of the Gods
The presence of Christian Bale in the credits of “Thor: Love & Thunder” is considered by many fans to be one of the biggest wastes in the history of the MCU. After his unforgettable performance in Chirstopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, the actor inherited the role of Gorr the Butcher of the Gods in Taika Waititi’s film. An experience that left Christian Bale with good memories.
“The definition of it is monotony. There are well-meaning people. There are other actors with much more experience than me in this area. Is it possible to differentiate one day from the next? No, absolutely not. We have no idea what we should do. I wasn’t even able to tell the difference between the film sets,” he told GQ in 2022.
Anthony Hopkins – Odin Borson
One of the greatest actors of his generation has agreed to join the MCU to play Odin, Thor’s father, on screen. A shock for this seasoned actor, who has not hidden his dismay in the face of the relentless machinery of Marvel productions, which leaves no room for the expression of any acting talent.
“They put me in armor. They gave me a beard. Sat me on a throne, yelled at me a bit. If you sit in front of a green screen, the comedy loses all substance,” he told The New Yorker in 2023, clearly disillusioned by the little material with which he could work on his character.
Terrence Howard – James Rhodes
The case of Terrence Howard remains one of the most controversial in the history of the MCU. Played by James Rhodes in the first film released in 2008, the actor was replaced by Don Cheadle from the second part. For what reason? In an interview with the show Watch What Happens Live in 2013, he explained that Marvel chose not to honor the initial contract signed for three films, by demanding a significant salary cut from him at the end of the first shutter. And according to him, Robert Downey Jr., whom he claims to have helped land the role, had far from impeccable behavior in the operation.
“It’s going to cause me a lot of trouble, but who cares. It turns out that the person I helped become Iron Man, when it was time to re-enlist for the second one, took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out,” he says. -he. “We had a contract for three films. We signed before shooting. A certain amount for the first, and another amount for the second and then for the third… They came to see me after the first film to tell me that they planned to pay me 1/8 of the agreed amount, because they thought that the second part would be a success with or without me. And I called my friend who I helped get his role, and he only called me back three months later,” he adds.
