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Which characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have been recast? As in one character being played by two different actors.

I'm only asking about works set within the MCU, and not about other Marvel movies.

Which characters from the MCU have been recast?

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4
  • 1
    Related, not dupe
    – ibid
    Feb 9 '16 at 4:27
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    From the exact opposite perspective, actor Enver Gjokaj appeared as a cop in Avengers Assemble before being cast as SSR Agent Daniel Sousa in Agent Carter, which makes him the only person to date to play more than one character in the MCU.
    – Dr R Dizzle
    Feb 26 '16 at 11:21
  • @DrRDizzle see my answer to the related question.
    – ibid
    Feb 26 '16 at 11:58
  • Dang it! I didn't know about the Quill's mother though, that's interesting.
    – Dr R Dizzle
    Feb 26 '16 at 12:03
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There have been five definite recasts in the MCU thus far:

Hulk

Originally played by Edward Norton in The Incredible Hulk and then by Mark Ruffalo in subsequent MCU films.

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War Machine

Originally played by Terrance Howard in Iron Man and then by Don Cheadle in subsequent Iron Man films.

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Fandral

Played by Josh Dallas in Thor and then by Zachary Levi in The Dark World. (Thanks to @JasonBaker for pointing out this one!)

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Thanos

For his cameo at the end of the first Avengers film, Thanos was played by Damian Poitier. As of Guardians of the Galaxy, he is played by Josh Brolin. (Thanks to @Catmann for pointing out this one!)

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Howard Stark

Stark has appeared several times in the MCU and has been played by a trio of actors: Gerard Sanders, John Slattery, and Dominic Cooper.

Sanders and Slattery have portrayed Stark in overlapping periods of the character's life — Sanders is shown as Stark throughout much of the character's adult life in a slideshow memorial at the start of Iron Man, including his middle-aged years. Slattery portrays a middle-aged Stark in Iron Man 2 and Ant-Man. Thus, this is a genuine recasting.

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On the other hand, the casting of Cooper as Stark should not be counted as a recasting, as Cooper has played a younger Stark (The First Avenger and Agent Carter) to Slattery's middle-aged Stark. In particular, Slattery was brought back for Ant-Man after Cooper's work in The First Avenger.

Similarly, there are flashbacks in Agents of Shield, Agent Carter, Daredevil, and Jessica Jones to younger versions of characters — again, these should not count as recasting. Likewise, I would not count the actors playing the young Thor and Loki in Thor, the young Starlord in Guardians, nor the body double for the CGI-modified Chris Evans (pre-serum Cap) in The First Avengers as recastings.

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  • Although there are probably more if you count flashbacks; Peggy Carter has been played by at least two actresses by that measure, but I don't think that's in the spirit of the question
    – Jason Baker
    Feb 7 '16 at 4:02
  • @JasonBaker : Yeah, I discounted Peggy Carter on the basis that it's just a matter of aging across the elapsed decades.
    – Praxis
    Feb 7 '16 at 4:04
  • Though that leads to the semantic question of whether Howard Stark can technically be considered a recast; perhaps Sanders to Slattery is one, but I'm pretty sure we just have three actors playing the man at different times in his life
    – Jason Baker
    Feb 7 '16 at 4:19
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    @JasonBaker : I just checked Peggy Carter, and it turns out she was only played by Haley Atwell --- they just used CGI to age her for Winter Soldier.
    – Praxis
    Feb 7 '16 at 4:29
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    @pstag ang lee's hulk is not part of the MCU. the incredible hulk is. not only does it fit squarely in the official timeline from marvel, RDJ shows up in the post credits as tony stark talking about the avengers, and the events are very specifically referenced in fury's big week.
    – phantom42
    Feb 7 '16 at 14:39
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Thanos was played by someone else for his short cameo in Avengers. Josh Brolin wasn't officially cast until GotG.

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  • Nice work. I hope that you don't mind that I've added Thanos to my list, for completeness. I've explicitly given credit to you.
    – Praxis
    Feb 9 '16 at 2:14
4

Tina Minoru was played by Linda Louise Duan in Doctor Strange (2016)

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In Runaways, she will be played by Brittany Ishibashi

Brittany Ishibashi (“This Is Us,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows”) as Tina Minoru – a perfectionist “tiger mom.” In her professional life, she is a brilliant innovator and ruthless CEO. Emotionally, she is less confident, often shying away from difficult conversations with her daughter Nico and careful to avoid explicit displays of her feelings.
'Marvel's Runaways' Sets Remaining Cast for Television Project with Hulu

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    Runaways showrunner Josh Schwartz confirmed that the two Minorus are two different, unrelated characters.
    – DanDoubleL
    Aug 9 '18 at 20:22
-3

Absorbing Man (Carl Creel) was played by two different actors in Agents of Shield and Daredevil.

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    Pretty sure it was Brian Patrick Wade in Agents of Shield and he was only mentioned in Daredevil, but I figure it's worth making the answer a little more clear.
    – FuzzyBoots
    Feb 18 '18 at 5:17
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    @FuzzyBoots is correct, Creel did not appear in Daredevil; he was only mentioned.
    – DanDoubleL
    Aug 9 '18 at 20:24

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