In a recent interview with ExtraTV, Zac Efron spoke about his feelings towards the MCU. He claimed that he’s “been a fan of Marvel since [he] started walking” and “would jump at the opportunity” should he be offered the chance to play a character that was the right fit.
This intrigued both Marvel and Zac Efron fans leading to suggestions online of what role would best suit his talents.
And while overall there seemed to be a consensus for Efron to appear as Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch, there were many other suggestions worth considering, so let’s explore the options as we settle on which are serious contenders, or serious flops.
The Human Torch
This beloved character is a member of the Fantastic Four and first appeared on screen in 2005. The Human Torch, aka Johnny Storm, was the character many people seemed to agree would be the best role for Efron to play due to his charismatic performance, handsome features and ability to play a bit of an airhead.
Previously there have been two Human Torches on screen, with the most recent iteration played by Michael B. Jordan in 2015, and Chris Evans, the MCU’s very own Cpatain America who originally brought the role to life in 2005.
If Efron were to take on the role of Johnny Storm, he would have his work cut out for him trying to live up to the standards set by previous actors.
With a Fantastic Four reboot confirmed to be in the works, fans are eagerly awaiting to see who will bring Marvel’s first family into the MCU.
Actress and director Bryce Dallas Howard is rumoured to be directing and possibly starring as Sue Storm (Invisible Woman) in the reboot along with John Krasinski securing his place as Reed Richards following his appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
However, if this Fantastic Four reboot were to happen, Efron may have to fight to play Johnny Storm, if he was interested of course, since Dylan Sprouse announced in an interview back in 2019 that he would be pursuing the role if the opportunity were ever to arise.
Nova
Since Nova hasn’t appeared in the MCU so far, Zac Efron could potentially take on this role.
Since according to Deadline, a project is in the works to bring Richard Rider into the MCU, but whether this will be a film for the big screen or a new series is still unclear.
One thing that does appear to be confirmed is that the writer from Moon Knight, Sabir Pirzada is involved.
In some ways, I believe Efron would be a great choice for this role, but one aspect makes me sceptical that he’d be able to make it work.
There are two versions of Nova, one with the physique of a grown man who we know as Richard Rider, and the other one being Sam Alexander who is considerably younger.
Now, Efron does fit the profile of Richard Rider, but personally, I imagine Nova to have a deep voice similar to Patrick Warburton or possibly a mysterious raspy voice close to Kevin Conroy’s Batman. Zac Efron is talented, but I don’t believe he could pull off either of these voices, even if he had a dialect coach it just wouldn’t sound right coming from his mouth.
But what are your thoughts? Could Efron play Nova?
Wolverine
Efron would most likely jump at the opportunity to play Wolverine (who wouldn’t?) as he is a highly beloved character within the MCU.
He would be a good, albeit unusual, choice for the role, but again, has some massive shoes to fill due to the role being iconized by Hugh Jackman.
And while Efron wouldn’t be my first choice to play Wolverine, we can see why people would choose him for the role. He stays fit, he’s witty and has taken on a wide variety of roles in the past showing that he has versatile acting skills.
My main issue with Efron taking on a role like Wolverine is the fact that he isn’t considered an action star, and the role is quite action dominated so I’d imagine an actor who has done a few action movies would be a better fit.
Not to say that Efron isn’t fit enough for the role or couldn’t fulfil the role, if he did it could open other avenues for him and a whole new genre of movies for his acting career to thrive in, it’s just that Efron usually steers towards comedies. Not to mention the fact that Wolverine is a very violent and angry character so it would take a lot mentally to get into that mindset and bring the character’s personality to fruition.
Sunspot
Surprisingly people suggested that Sunspot would be a suitable character for Efron to play. This is probably one of the characters that I would say he definitely shouldn’t play as this role wasn’t made for someone like him and would cause a lot of controversy.
Sunspot is a Pardo Brazilian character, or at least he was originally in the comics, whose father was Afro-Latino and mother a white American. His character first debuted on screen in X-Men: Days of Future Past and was portrayed by Mexican actor Adan Canto. Sunspot also recently featured in The New Mutants and was portrayed by Brazilian actor Henry Zaga.
Whilst Henry Zaga is Latino, he isn’t part of the Afro-Latin community, which is the key component of Sunspot’s story, nor does he even remotely share a similar appearance to Sunspot’s original comic character. Adan Canto wasn’t a great choice for the role either, and many people sparked outrage over the whitewashing of Sunspot’s character.
Since Zac Efron is a white American, it just wouldn’t be suitable for him to be considered for this role. Actors who would be better suited for this role include Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Jonathan Daviss, Alfred Enoch, and Jean Paulo Campos.
Gambit
Gambit is another character that has never been featured on the big screen before, although there was a movie on the verge of production. There was a script and actor chosen to take on the role back in 2017, that is until other factors created complications.
Channing Tatum was cast to play Gambit which kept getting pushed back and reshuffled with new directors.
Tatum claimed that the movie was pushed back due to movies Logan and Deadpool which were taking the spotlight. Tatum claimed that this wasn’t an issue in his eyes as it gave him and the director time to redefine the script.
Unfortunately, the whole project was then scrapped due to the Disney and Fox merger back in 2019. Tatum has since stated that he would still like to play Gambit if another chance were to present itself.
Therefore, if Efron thought this role would be the one for him, he would be competing against Tatum. I think this role would be fitting for either Tatum or Efron as they both have a similar appearance to Gambit and are both athletic due to their backgrounds in dance, but I think if this character was going to get a movie Channing Tatum would be the frontrunner for the role as he seems to want it more and Efron hasn’t disclosed his desire to play Gambit.
Agent Venom
Agent Venom, also known as Spider-Man bully/secret fan Flash Thompson, came about when Homeland Security wanted to use the Venom symbiote that they had captured to create a new super-soldier.
Homeland Security went to Flash asking him to bond with the symbiote to which he agreed as he wanted to be a superhero like Spider-Man, and hoped that bonding with the Venom symbiote would provide him with the ability to walk again after losing his legs in the Iraq war.
Whilst we have seen quite a few Flash Thompson’s in live-action Marvel movies, we haven’t seen Flash as Agent Venom. It would be interesting to see this bully take on superhero duties, and whilst I personally could envision Zac Efron as Agent Venom, I’m not sure he would be able to take on the role at the current time.
This is because Spider-Man may need to feature in the Agent Venom movies for the story to align with the comics. With scarce details about the upcoming Spider-Man 4 movie to go on, we would expect Tom Holland and Tony Revolori would either have to be a part of the Agent Venom movie, or a whole new Flash Thompson would need to be introduced in order for an Agent Venom movie to be successful.
If Agent Venom were to be brought into the MCU, there is the possibility that the latest Flash Thompson from Tom Holland’s Spider-Man could be offered the spin-off. Tony Revolori has stated previously that if this character was to be given his own movie, then he would certainly be eager to get the role.
However, if someone else like Tony Revolori were to get the role of Agent Venom, Efron could possibly be a fitting contender for Agent Anti-Venom which was a much later creation spawning from the Venom symbiote.
Agent Anti-Venom originated when Spider-Man attempted to destroy Venom, after Flash and Eddie Brock fought to be Venom’s host, but instead formed a new symbiote from the fragment of Venom that was fused with Flash and transformed him into this alternate version of Agent Venom with an inverted colour scheme.
Two Face
Whilst Efron stated that he would like to join the MCU, some fans suggested that he steer toward the DC Universe instead. One of the two DC characters that were suggested for Efron to play was Two Face.
Two Face has been played by several actors before including Tommy Lee Jones, Aaron Eckhart, and Billy Dee Williams. Currently, a new show called Gotham Knights is in production and has already selected actor Misha Collins to embrace the role of Two Face (Brilliant choice in our humble opinion and we cannot wait to see Supernatural’s Castiel becoming Harvey Dent).
This would mean if Efron were open to joining DC instead of Marvel and wanted to play Two Face, he would have to wait for the next Batman related project. Whilst he said he’d like to join the MCU, DC is the next best thing, and Two Face would definitely be a fitting character for him following his chilling performance as the enigmatic and charming Ted Bundy in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.
Quicksilver
Quicksilver is a character we all know as Marvel film fans, whether that be from the comics or the Avengers: Age of Ultron, or from Fox’s latest X-Men films. He’s Serbian, a former member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Scarlet Witch’s twin brother, and has the power of super speed.
Quicksilver has previously been played onscreen on two occasions, once by Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the second being played by Evan Peters in a handful of X-Men movies as well as WandaVision.
Unfortunatley, Quicksilver was killed in the Avengers, and even though an alternative disguised version of his character was featured in WandaVision, bringing him back would create some anomalies in the MCU storyline, unless of course he appears as a variant from an alternate timeline.
Nightwing
Nightwing is the second DC character recommendation for Efron to play instead of a Marvel superhero. He is a character that served as Batman’s sidekick Robin, before taking on a new hero identity to fight crime on his own.
In 2017, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Warner Bros. were negotiating with Director Chris McKay to bring out a live-action Nightwing film. There are several actors already seeking the role which means that Efron would have to give an impressive audition to be given a shot at playing Nightwing.
There were rumours in recent years that Efron was being considered for the role of Nightwing. However, Chris McKay, the film’s director, shut down these rumours on Twitter stating that the rumours were “not true”.
Not true
— Chris McKay (@buddboetticher) May 13, 2018
However, he has since deleted this tweet, but we can neither confirm nor deny that that means anything…
Since the announcement that a Nightwing film was in the works, there hasn’t been a lot of information as to when casting and filming will begin. Last year, McKay made it known that the movie had not been taken on by any production company as of yet, but the film was not being cancelled either.
Quasar
Quasar is linked to various superhero teams and institutions including S.H.I.E.L.D, The Avengers, and the Fantastic Four. He has a whole catalogue of powers such as light projection, super speed and strength, teleportation, flight, energy absorption, etc.
Zac Efron would be a brilliant casting choice for Quasar. He could bring a great deal of comedic personality to the role, his physique and features align with Quasar’s, and his talents would definitely bring this character to life on screen.
The only hiccup would be Quasar’s accent, since he’s from Wisconsin, Efron would need to work with a dialect coach to nail this accent. That is if the directors of the movie, should one be brought into the MCU, decided to include the Wisconsin accent at all.
Marvel are quite particular with their movies, but I can’t help but refer to Scarlet Witch and her Sokovian accent that turned to dust (still too soon?) after Age of Ultron. Whether that was an innocent mistake or intentional, sometimes they do make exceptions and leave out small aspects such as accents, events, and even continuity errors in their movies.
No actors as of yet have expressed their desire to play Quasar, although there has been suggestions online from fans and news companies that have offered up suggestions, these include Chris Pine, Ewan McGregor, Jensen Ackles, Ben Foster, Alexander Ludwig, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
Who knows if Quasar will ever be brought to the MCU, but if it were then Zac Efron would bring so much to the role. However, I must admit that all the other actors listed above would be brilliant as Quasar as well.
Molecule Man
Molecule man is considered one of the most powerful individuals within the multiverse, having the capacity to manipulate matter and energy molecules. He was first introduced in 1963 and is considered a supervillain but on occasion bands with superheroes for good.
As this character is considered to be very powerful, I would prefer to see a more experienced actor bring Molecule Man to life like Robert Downey Junior did with Iron Man. Which is why I can’t imagine this being the role for him, whilst he is a talented actor, I believe there are plenty of other roles within Marvel more appropriate for Efron’s talents.
There aren’t any actors off the top of my head that I could imagine bringing Molecule Man to the MCU and creating a masterpiece, but I’m sure there are a handful of actors who could do his story justice. Since Molecule Man has been featured within the Fantastic Four comics, it is likely he will be making an appearance in one of those movies. Since a new Fantastic Four is in the works, there is a possibility he could feature in the reboot, although this hasn’t been mentioned as of yet.
Iceman
Iceman was another character from the X-Men series that was recommended by fans. Previously, Iceman has been played by Shawn Ashmore in the original X-Men movies and while his portrayal was totally passable, I think this character has a lot more to offer that we didn’t get to see with Ashmore.
Efron might be able to play this character if it was an older version of him rather than the young character we know as Bobby Drake. When Shawn Ashmore brought Iceman to life in the X-Men movies he was in his 20’s, since Zac Efron is now 34 and isn’t giving off that whole teen jock/heartthrob look anymore, the character would likely need to be slightly more mature.
So, if there were to be a show or movie on Iceman’s life post Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, then Efron would definitely be a candidate to continue Bobby Drake’s story. There was talk back in 2020 that Shia LeBeouf was being considered for Iceman in an X-Men reboot, whether this is still happening isn’t clear.
Although, since Iceman came out as gay in 2015’s comic the Uncanny X-Men #600, members of the LGBTQ+ community have been pushing for a queer actor to play the next Bobby Drake. There have been quite a few fan suggestions for who could play Iceman rather than Shia LeBeouf, such as Brandon Flynn, Colton Haynes, Justice Smith and Ben Whishaw.
Personally, I think Brandon Flynn would be the best choice to play Iceman in an X-Men reboot, but that’s all down to whether Flynn would audition for the role and the casting team’s decision.
Mister Sinister
Mister Sinister is a huge part of the X-Men comics as he is one of their most problematic enemies. He was originally a scientist but was genetically transformed into this immortal villain who could manipulate mutant powers.
Whilst Zac Efron may be able to pull off this role, there are several other actors I’d have in line before him; This includes Joe Manganiello, Keanu Reeves, Jason Mamoa, Ben Barnes, and Jared Leto. However, I’m not sure the latter two actors could be considered for this role since Jared just featured as Morbius and Ben portrayed Jigsaw in The Punisher.
Plus, I can envision Mister Sinister with a deep and psychotic tone to his voice, imagine Thanos and the Green Goblin’s voices combined. Definitely not something you’d expect to hear from Zac Efron, which is why I wouldn’t necessarily say he’d be the best actor to bring this character to the MCU.
Cyclops
Another X-Men character that audiences want to see played by Efron is Cyclops. Cyclops has previously been portrayed by actor James Marsden but was killed off in the third X-Men movie by his previously deceased girlfriend Jean Grey.
Since Cyclops has already been on the big screen, Marvel has the opportunity now to make a movie on his origins. This could include Mister Sinister’s impact on Cyclops’ childhood after becoming an orphan, but obviously since Wolverine, Mister Sinister, and Iceman are in this list, Efron couldn’t play all four of these characters.
As mentioned earlier in the article, Efron wouldn’t be my first choice for Wolverine, Iceman, or Mr Sinister, but out of all of these X-Men characters Cyclops feels like the most fitting role for Efron to play.
Longshot
Longshot is a genetically engineered Marvel character, similar to Adam Warlock, who was created by a collective known as The Spineless Ones. His powers include speed, enhanced senses, agility, healing, and stamina.
Due to being created instead of born, Longshot has some characteristics that separate him from humans; He wears a star shaped scar on his left eye and each of his hands only has three fingers and a thumb.
I could certainly envision Zac Efron playing Longshot if he was ever introduced in a Marvel film or even given his own film or show for that matter. Efron has a similar look and physique to Longshot, and Efron has the skill to do his character justice if he believed Longshot was the best Marvel character for him.
Efron has the potential to play a number of these characters, but I believe he would be best suited for Gambit, Cyclops, Quasar, Longshot, The Human Torch, Nightwing, Agent Venom or Agent Anti-Venom.
What are your thoughts about Zac Efron joining the MCU? Do you agree with the majority and think Marvel should offer Efron the role of the Human Torch? Or do you believe another role would be more fitting?
By Ellimay Mead
Instagram: @ellimays_activism