Inspired by a fan question on Youtube channel, Collider, and in honour of the upcoming Avengers Endgame on 26th April, I have recast most of the Avengers cast with some of my favourite classic Hollywood stars, including Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant and Vivien Leigh.
Tony Stark- Cary Grant
Cary Grant is known for his work in North By Northwest, Charade and To Catch A Thief. If you want convincing of his quipping ability, look no further than his breakneck speed, witty dialogue in Bringing Up Baby and His Girl Friday.
Thor Odinson- Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston is known for Ben-Hur, Planet of the Apes and The Ten Commandments. His Rotten Tomatoes description reads "he was at his best when portraying larger-than-life figures from world history, preferably with his shirt off." Need any more convincing?
Steve Rogers- Paul Newman
Paul Newman is known for The Verdict, Cool Hand Luke and The Sting. Known for being an offscreen hero as well as an onscreen one, he was a frequent social activist and often lauded as the 'perfect' movie star.
Bruce Banner - Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart is known for Hollywood classic, Casablanca as well as The Maltese Falcon and The African Queen. His quietly intense and cynical performance in Casablanca matches Bruce Banner's energy.
Black Widow- Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh is known primarily for her role in Gone With the Wind as well as A Streetcar Named Desire and Waterloo Bridge. Her stunning performance in the former playing Scarlett O'Hara, a manipulative and yet sympathetic character, made her my one and only pick for Black Widow.
Hawkeye- Gregory Peck
Gregory Peck is known for To Kill A Mockingbird, Roman Holiday and The Omen. Clint Barton is a hard one to cast since MCU Hawkeye is so different to comic book Hawkeye.
Loki- Anthony Perkins
Anthony Perkins is famous for his iconic performance as Norman Bates in Psycho. This may be my favourite bit of casting so far.
Ant-Man- Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon is known for his comedic performances in The Apartment, Some Like It Hot and The Odd Couple. He's got the card tricks sorted by the looks of the bottom left picture.
Wasp- Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is known for her roles in The Apartment, Terms of Endearment and Steel Magnolias. She looks a lot like comic book Wasp, just sayin'.
Scarlet Witch- Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn is one of the most famous movie stars ever, known for her roles in Breakfast At Tiffanys, Roman Holiday and Sabrina. Her odd, idiosyncratic dance in Funny Face convinced me she could master Elizabeth Olsen's wavy hand movements.
Doctor Strange- Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier is known for his roles in Wuthering Heights, The Prince and the Showgirl and Henry V, known for his work in Shakespeare. Fun little fact: Thor director and fellow Shakespeare afficinado, Kenneth Branagh, played Olivier in the biographical movie, Hitchcock.
Black Panther- Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier is known for his role in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and In the Heat of the Night. Come on, this would be amazing, guys.
Captain Marvel- Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly was known for her roles in Rear Window, To Catch a Thief and High Society. Fun fact: she was also the Princess of Monaco after her marriage to Prince Rainer III. (She would also make a great Sue Storm, come to think of it.)
Thanos- Orson Welles
Orson Welles is known for Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil and The Stranger. Thanos is known for being purple, killing half the universe and sitting in a chair.
Bonus round!
Mr Fantastic- James Stewart
James Stewart is known for Vertigo, It's A Wonderful Life and Rear Window.
Invisible Woman- Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman is known for Casablanca, Gaslight and Notorious. (Watch Notorious, everyone, it's great!)
Grandmaster- Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder is known for Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles. No one can be Jeff Goldblum, but Gene Wilder is just as much of a legend and would crush this role.
Wolverine- Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood is known for his directing with movies like Sully and Million Dollar Baby, but also for starring in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Gran Torino and Dirty Harry. And yes, I know he's too tall for the role but if Hugh Jackman can do it, so can Eastwood.
Johnny Storm- James Dean
James Dean only starred in three films- East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant- but became a cultural icon due to his rebellious on screen persona, which would perfectly fit the youngest Fantastic Four member.
Sharon Carter- Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway is known for Bonnie and Clyde, Chinatown and Network. Just so everyone is clear, MCU did the character of Sharon a major disservice- she's one of my favourite secondary Marvel characters in the comics and had so much potential to add to the limited female representation in comic book movies.
Thanks for reading the article- if you have any suggestions for casting Spider-Man, the Guardians or any unadapted comic book characters, you can send them through in the comments below or on Twitter (@filmdomblog) and Instagram (cinematicwallflower).