Of all of the A-list stars to have by no means suited up for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tom Hanks stood tall as essentially the most stunning omission. Again in October 2023, he revealed on the Smartless podcast that Marvel had NEVER known as. Not as soon as. And he wasn’t joking.
“Right here’s the issue,” Hanks informed host Will Arnett (by way of Cheat Sheet). “To begin with, they’ve by no means known as me as soon as. No, no, by no means.”
Yeah, by no means.
That was wild contemplating this was Tom Hanks. Two-time Oscar winner. Field workplace royalty since Massive, Philadelphia, and Forrest Gump. And whereas he by no means auditioned anymore, he positively hadn’t retired his performing chops. However when it got here to the MCU? Complete radio silence.
Nonetheless, Hanks wasn’t salty. In actual fact, he already had his ultimate Marvel position in thoughts. And no, it wasn’t a flying cape second or an alien transformation. It was one thing far more grounded. And admittedly, sort of good.
“I believe that if one in all lately they are going to they usually’ll say, ‘Is there any means you’d take into account taking part in the Secretary of Protection? A man who comes and says, ‘Please, assist us all for man. We will’t survive,’” he joked on the podcast. “I’ll be a type of guys. I don’t get to play the punk Kung Fu stuff.”
That’s the place the throwback got here full circle. Hanks was referring to “these guys”—the elite listing of Marvel’s non-superpowered human figures. Suppose Robert Redford’s Alexander Pierce in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, William Damage’s Basic Ross, and even Invoice Murray’s quirky cameo in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Redford turned out to be a HYDRA agent. Damage’s Ross turned Secretary of State and had recurring roles till Black Widow. Even Garry Shandling’s character popped up throughout a number of movies as a sneaky political determine. These weren’t simply cameo fillers. They have been plot anchors. Hanks was completely all the way down to be a type of guys – the swimsuit with gravitas, not the spandex.
And whereas Hanks by no means threw punches within the MCU, he’d danced round fantasy and sci-fi earlier than. He performed Santa and a magical practice conductor in The Polar Categorical. Acquired futuristic in Cloud Atlas. And, after all, voiced America’s favourite cowboy doll in Toy Story. He even pulled off real-world heroism in Sully, Apollo 13, and Captain Phillips.
So yeah, superhero-adjacent? Completely. Superhero-ready? Provided that the decision ever got here.
However one of the best half? Hanks made it clear he wasn’t determined. He simply discovered it curious. Marvel constructed a universe the place nearly everybody had a job. But by some means, Hollywood’s nicest man hadn’t gotten the nod. The ball, as he mentioned with out saying, was in Marvel’s court docket.
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