As theMarvel Cinematic Universecontinues to grow in exciting new ways, multiple Hollywood stars have revealed their dream characters to play in the franchise. Over the years, Marvel has had a nice balance of unknowns, rising stars, and Hollywood legends in the MCU. This has led to some of theMCU’s best movies, with the mix of talents making the MCUa popular franchise that many Hollywood stars want to join.
Recently,Harrison Ford made waves after not only joining the MCU but playing Red Hulkof all characters. It is evident that working at Marvel Studios is not only massive financially for actors, but also quite fun, as Ford said that was the reason he wanted to join the MCU. With many major characters still set to debut in the franchise, theMCU’s upcoming moviescould feature a few of the Hollywood stars who have revealed their dream Marvel roles and desire to join the shared universe.
10Michael B. Jordan
Black Panther
Chadwick Boseman played T’Challa in the MCU. Sadly, the Black Panther actor died in 2020 after a private battle with colon cancer. Out of respect for the star,Marvel chose not to recast the role forBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, five years after Boseman’s tragic passing, anew MCU report claims Marvel wants to recast T’Challa. More than that, an actor has reportedly passed on the role.
Michael B Jordan’s Childhood Dream Marvel Role Just Became Possible 7 Years After He Joined The MCU
Michael B. Jordan played Killmonger in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the talented actor’s Marvel dream role is a major hero, not a villain.
Having played Killmonger, who has died in the MCU, Michael B. Jordan would be perfect for T’Challa. The report claimedBlack Panther would be recast through the multiverse, which could explain why the new Black Panther looks like his former villain if Jordan was cast. The actor has revealed thatBlack Panther was the hero he wanted to play when he was a child, and given how close he was to Boseman, he would honor his legacy.
9Keanu Reeves
Ghost Rider & Wolverine
Keanu Reeves not having joined the MCU yet is surprising. The actor has revealed he had talks with Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige in the past, which the executive confirmed, even claiming thatMarvel talks with Reeves for nearly every movie they makein search of the perfect role for him. If the actor could have a say in the matter, Reeves has not one but two Marvel dream roles.
A fan of motorcycles all his life and having played dark characters, Reeves would be the perfect fit as the veteran Johnny Blaze in the MCU.
The actor has revealed thathis childhood dream Marvel role was Ghost Rider. A fan of motorcycles all his life and having played dark characters, Reeves would be the perfect fit as the veteran Johnny Blaze in the MCU.The other character Reeves would like to play for Marvel is Wolverine, though the star thinks Hugh Jackman did such a good job as Logan that “it is too late” for him.
8Cynthia Erivo
Storm
Cynthia Erivo recently starred in one of the best and most talked about movies of 2025. The potent singer and nuanced actressbrought to life the iconic witch Elphaba inWicked. The musical had the production value of a bona fide superhero movie, with impressive visual effects and complex set pieces with a huge scope. After the project, Erivo would translate well into a major Marvel hero, and she has her sights set on one.
The New Mutants (2020)
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Wicked’s Cynthia Erivo wants to play Storm in the MCU. When asked who was her next dream role after playing Elphaba, Erivo said, “I really want to play Storm. I know it sounds frivolous, but I don’t think we’ve uncovered how grand she is…“The MCU is currently working on an X-Men movie, which is being written byThe Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakeswriter Michael Lesslie. Reportedly, the film will be female-focused, so Erivo could make Storm one of the leads.
7Norman Reedus
Ghost Rider
While Keanu Reeves wants to be the MCU’s Ghost Rider, he will meet fierce competition for the role when the time comes to cast the character. Multiple Hollywood stars have revealed their desire to play Ghost Rider in the MCU, with the most popular name for the role perhaps being that of Norman Reedus. The actor became famous worldwide forplaying Daryl Dixon inThe Walking Deadand its spinoff,The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon.
Reedus’The Walking Deadcharacter has the same no-nonsense attitude Ghost Rider is known for. In the zombie show and movies like 2023’sThe Bikeriders, Reedus has shown that he knows his way around a motorcycle and can look incredibly cool in one. Besides having the action expertise for the role,Reedus wants to play the character, saying, “It would be a blast.”
6Dwayne Johnson
Luke Cage
Dwayne Johnson is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. The WWE champion-turned-actor has already had the opportunity to play a comic book character.The Rock gave life to Black Adam in the DCEU. However, despite saying for a long time that the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe was about to change,Black Adamwas not a major hit. With the creation of James Gunn’s DCU, The Rock’s character was left behind.
This frees the actor to play his dream Marvel role. Back in 2013, Kevin Feige toldColliderthat Johnson’s name had come up at Marvel, and he hoped the actor would join the MCU one day.The Rockthen commented on Twitter that he would love to play Luke Cage. SinceMike Colter has not been announced to return as Luke Cage after his Netflix series, Johnson could replace him.
5Matthew McConaughey
The Hulk
Matthew McConaughey recently joined the MCU. However, the actor did not play a prominent role like a star of his caliber should.McConaughey voiced Cowboy Deadpool inDeadpool & Wolverine. The character is a member of the Deadpool Corps, with the actor having a couple of lines before his multiverse variant of the Merc With a Mouth fought Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine and Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool.
Years before he joined the MCU, McConaughey tried to play his dream Marvel character.The actor reached out to the studio to attempt to play the Hulkbefore Mark Ruffalo was cast as Bruce Banner. The actor’s desire to play Banner stems from his love of Lou Ferrigno’sThe Incredible Hulkseries. While Ruffalo shows no signs of stepping down, the multiverse could lead to McConaughey playing the evil Maestro variant of the Hulk in the upcoming Avengers films.
4Janelle Monáe
If it is up to Janelle Monáe,Wicked’s Cynthia Erivo will face competition for the MCU’s Storm when the X-Men reboot comes along. The actress has not only expressed her interest in playing the character, but has also talked about it with key members of the MCU. Speaking withEmpirein 2020, Monáe revealed that shetalked to actors from Marvel’s Black Panther franchise about playing Stormin a future film.
With the MCU reportedly recasting T’Challa, Marvel Studios could bring Storm and Black Panther together for the first time in live-action in Black Panther 3.
Lupita Nyong’o, Chadwick Boseman, and Michael B. Jordan visited her Wondaland studio when they were filmingBlack Panther. About playing Storm, the actress says that she would want to be added to the list of stars who have done right by the character.Monáe views the X-Men character as her dream role, and even if she does not come to the Black Panther franchise, the actress would love to play Storm.
3Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling is the final actor on the list to have expressed an interest in playing Ghost Rider.Gosling is one of Hollywood’s most famous and successful stars, which he has been for a long time now. The actor’s career includes plenty of awards nominations and box office hits. That kind of star power could be what Marvel needs after some recent divisive projects in the Multiverse Saga.
While Gosling’s name has been linked to Nova, who has a series in development at Marvel, the actor would love to play Ghost Rider. When talking about howKevin Feige said he would love to find a place for Gosling in the MCU, Gosling told hisThe Fall Guyco-star Emily Blunt that she was the one who took not doing superhero movies as a badge of honor, not him. Gosling could be perfect for the Danny Ketch version of Ghost Rider, and he has the action and motorcycle skills for the role.
2Keke Palmer
Rogue
Rogue was one of the most talked about Marvel characters of 2024.With the animatedX-Men ‘97, Marvel Studios showed that it understands the X-Menand mutants who were overshadowed by Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in live-action should get their chance to shine in the MCU. Rogue has enormous potential, and Keke Palmer sees it. The star would not only love to play Rogue, but Palmer has shared shots of her in Rogue cosplay.
It all started when fans suggested she would be perfect for the role. Speaking withComicBook.com,Keke Palmer said she was “ready for Rogue.“In that same year, the actress shared a video and shots of herself as Rogue on Instagram. Having someone with that fun energy who also happens to have great dramatic skills, as evidenced in Jordan Peele’sNope, would be perfect for the MCU’s Rogue.
1Rhenzy Feliz
Miles Morales
Finally, closing out the list is Rhenzy Feliz, whohas Marvel and DC roles in his resume. The actor first played Alex Wilder inMarvel’s Runaways. Recently, Feliz gave life to his most prestigious comic book role to date. The actor played Victor Aguilar in HBO’sThe Penguin. The crime drama has opened upThe Batmanuniverse in exciting ways, and after Victor was killed by Oz Cobb, Feliz is free to take his talents to Marvel.
DC Star’s Dream Marvel Role Would Be Perfect For Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 4 And The MCU’s Future
A star of one of DC’s latest successful projects has revealed his dream Marvel role and a Spider-Man 4 report leaves the door open for his MCU debut.
Speaking withKristian Harloff, Rhenzy Feliz revealed that playing Miles Morales would be a dream. However, since the actor is 27, it would have to be an older Miles, perhaps in college. Since Tom Holland is 28,Marvel could make Peter Parker and Miles classmates in college, changing their dynamic from the comics and other media. This would keep things fresh and allow the actor to play his dreamMCUrole.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.
