MCU: 12 Worst Casting Decisions In Marvel Movies

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is quite possibly one of the most successful franchises the film industry has ever seen, and it’s fair to say that much of its success is down to its amazing casting.

Can you imagine a better fit for Tony Stark than Robert Downey Jr? Or a better Thor than Chris Hemsworth? Even some of the MCU’s more controversial casting choices, like Tilda Swinton’s whitewashed and gender-swapped incarnation of the Ancient One in Doctor Strange, turned out okay in the end.

But nobody gets it right every time, and the MCU is no different. While we’ve seen some outstanding casting decisions, as the MCU expands ever forth we’re seeing more and more roles that quite frankly suffer from severely misguided casting.

Some actors, despite their obvious talents, just don’t make for a good fit in MCU movies. Sometimes this is a result of poor writing and characterization, sometimes it’s a product of a lacklustre performance, but whatever the reason they stick out like a sore thumb amongst the MCU’s more expertly cast characters.

As one of the best loved storylines in the Iron Man comics, it was important the MCU did the Extremis arc justice. The casting of the talented Rebecca Hall as Maya Hansen – the genius scientist that co-developed the Extremis virus alongside Aldrich Killian – seemed like a step in the right direction. At least at first.

Somewhere in the transition from page to screen though, Maya Hansen devolved from woman worthy of a Nobel Prize to woman so scorned she’s willing to team up with the bad guy to exact revenge against Tony Stark for sleeping with her over a decade earlier and not calling back.

To give Hall her due, her role was vastly reduced. Originally written as the movie’s main villain, it was apparently announced halfway through filming that Maya would be reduced to minor adversary because, according to Marvel, female villain toy sales would be pitiful.

Perhaps Hall just gave up at this point, because it feels like she’s kind of sleepwalking through her performance. Maybe her performance would’ve fared better with her original meatier role, but unfortunately we’ll never know.