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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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    Related, not dupe
    – ibid
    Commented Feb 9, 2016 at 4:27
  • 1
    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
    Commented Feb 26, 2016 at 11:21
  • @DrRDizzle see my answer to the related question.
    – ibid
    Commented Feb 26, 2016 at 11:58
  • Dang it! I didn't know about the Quill's mother though, that's interesting.
    – Dr R Dizzle
    Commented Feb 26, 2016 at 12:03

4 Answers 4

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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
    Commented Feb 7, 2016 at 4:02
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    @JasonBaker : Yeah, I discounted Peggy Carter on the basis that it's just a matter of aging across the elapsed decades.
    – Praxis
    Commented Feb 7, 2016 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
    Commented Feb 7, 2016 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
    Commented Feb 7, 2016 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
    Commented Feb 7, 2016 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
    Commented Feb 9, 2016 at 2:14
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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
    Commented Aug 9, 2018 at 20:22
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Thaddeus E. "Thunderbolt" Ross

William Hurt first portrayed Thaddeus Ross in The Incredible Hulk (2008). In Captain America: New World Order (2024), Harrison Ford will play Thaddeus Ross.

Harrison Ford is stepping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The legendary actor will step in as Thaddeus ”Thunderbolt” Ross, replacing the late William Hurt, for 2024’s ”Captain America: New World Order” starring Anthony Mackie.

Source: Variety

Red Skull

Originally played by Hugo Weaving in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), he was replaced by Ross Marquand in Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019).

Hugo Weaving has said that while he would have been up for reprising his role as Red Skull in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, Marvel proved 'impossible' to negotiate with.

Weaving was the villain in 2011 movie Captain America: The First Avenger, and was all up for making a comeback in the final two chapters.
[…]
Instead, actor Ross Marquand, of The Walking Dead fame, voices the character in Infinity War and Endgame, in the pivotal scenes on Vormir, with the character being rendered in CGI.

Source: Yahoo!


Image source: WhatCulture

Cassie Lang

Originally played by Abby Ryder Fortson in Ant-Man (2015) and Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), she was replaced by Emma Fuhrmann (due to a time skip and aging of the character) in Avengers: Endgame (2019). Emma Fuhrmann was then replaced by Kathryn Newton in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023).

Image source: Screen Rant

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