Whereas he is most synonymous with Firefly, Serenity, and The Rookie, MCU followers could also be stunned to study that Nathan Fillion has performed extra Marvel characters than any single actor. Certainly, Fillion has portrayed 4 completely different Marvel film characters up to now, giving everybody from Josh Brolin (Thanos, Cable) and Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man, Physician Doom) a run for his or her cash. Granted, he will not be as seen or in style because the high-profile heroes and villains, however the record-breaking feat remains to be spectacular.
Though most of Fillion’s MCU roles belong to the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, he broke the file together with his look in Deadpool & Wolverine. Now that Fillion is poised to defect to Marvel’s most important rival and star in DC’s Superman film and Lanterns TV spin-off, will probably be fascinating to see if his MCU days are numbered. Till a definitive reply is supplied, it is time to mirror on Fillion’s MCU performances and sit up for what the actor has in retailer.
Nathan Fillion’s Pre-MCU Superhero/Villain Roles
Nathan Fillion’s superhero origins go all the way in which again to 2002, when he was forged as Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds in Joss Whedon’s Firefly. Regardless of the present’s untimely cancellation, Mal was such a preferred character that he was introduced again to star in Serenity, the 2005 characteristic movie continuation of Firefly. In his portrayal of Mal in Firefly and Serenity, Fillion proved he might carry an ensemble forged as a heroic determine main the resistance within the Battle of Serenity Valley. Whereas enjoying to, and concurrently satirizing the style tropes, Fillion confirmed he might play a morally upstanding hero with a straight face and wry smirk directly.
Along with starring in Serenity in 2005, Fillion was forged to voice numerous characters within the DC animated sequence Justice League Limitless. Rapidly proving his vocal acumen, Fillion voiced three disparate characters in simply two episodes, together with Vigilante, Greg Saunders, and Thanagarian #1. Since showcasing his skill to play completely different heroes, villains, and residents in comedian e book tales in 2005, Fillion appeared destined to gravitate towards the MCU at its 2008 inception.
In 2006, Fillion labored with James Gunn on Slither, a inventive rapport that led to his 2014 inclusion within the MCU’s Guardians of the Galaxy. However earlier than Fillion grew to become an MCU mainstay, he logged a number of further comedian e book credit. In 2009, Fillion voiced Steve Trevor in Surprise Girl. In 2010, he starred in James Gunn’s Tremendous, an impartial superhero film wherein Fillion performs The Holy Avenger, an ally to The Crimson Bolt.
In 2011, Fillion started voicing Hal Jordan, aka Inexperienced Lantern, in Inexperienced Lantern: Emerald Knights, Justice League: Doom, and Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox. For these tallying at dwelling, by 2011, Fillion had performed 5 DC characters in as many DC initiatives and nil MCU characters.
Nathan Fillion’s MCU Chronology
After working with James Gunn on Slither and Tremendous, Nathan Fillion reunited with the writer-director on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 in 2014. Within the first of 4 MCU characters he has depicted up to now, Fillion portrayed the character, Monstrous Inmate, in Guardians of the Galaxy. Upon assembly Peter Quill within the intergalactic Kyln jail, the Monstrous Inmate tries to flex his authority, however is humiliated by Groot. As all the time, Fillion demonstrates pitch-perfect comedic timing.
Fillion’s second MCU look got here in a scene deleted from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Fillion performed Simon Williams, aka Surprise Man, a movie pageant actor who appeared in a number of parody movies like Poisonous Janitor 2, Tony Stark, Haxan 2, and so forth. Williams’ ego is bruised when Kingo replaces him in Haxan 3: Haxaner. As he did in Tremendous and Serenity, Fillion is aware of easy methods to satirize comedian e book characters, and Gunn properly capitalized on that in Guardians Vol. 2.
Regardless of having his Guardians Vol. 2 scene minimize from the theatrical model, Gunn introduced Fillion again for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Fillion performs Grasp Karja, the boss of the Orgosentries, whose mission is to protect the Orgoscope, a biomaterial area station with superior therapeutic know-how. Karja marks the primary time Fillion’s face formally seems within the MCU after enjoying animated and deleted characters.
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Greatest Nathan Fillion Performances, Ranked
The charismatic and all the time charming Nathan Fillion has been an endearing and playful presence on each the large and small display screen for over 20 years.
In his fourth and most up-to-date MCU look, Fillion voiced Wade Wilson as Headpool in Deadpool & Wolverine. Headpool is a disembodied flying zombie head given the mission to stop Deadpool and Wolverine from assembly Cassandra Nova. By far probably the most outlandish of his MCU characters, Fillion as soon as once more holds his personal with absurd humor till Peter Knowledge enters the scene.
Though Fillion has performed 4 MCU characters and counting, he was additionally thought-about to play Hank Pym in The Avengers earlier than it was determined to scrap the character. After all, Michael Douglas ultimately performed Pym within the Ant-Man franchise. It is also value noting that Fillion, having identified Ryan Reynolds for the reason that sitcom Two Guys, a Woman and a Pizza Place, filmed a deleted cameo as a rest room attendant within the first Deadpool film.
Nathan Fillion & James Gunn Reunite for Superman, Defined
Returning to his DC roots, Gunn has forged Fillion as Man Gardner, aka Inexperienced Lantern, in 2025’s extremely anticipated launch of Superman. The origin story traces the meteoric rise of Kal-El, the alien superhero from Krypton posing as Earthly human Clark Kent. The reboot marks the primary entry within the newly minted DCU, which goals to create extra continuity underneath Gunn’s management. As regular, Fillion is hardly recognizable in his subsequent comedian e book function.
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20 Years Earlier than ‘The Rookie,’ Nathan Fillion Gave a Scene-Stealing Efficiency in a WWII Masterpiece
It is easy to neglect Nathan Fillion’s wonderful flip in Steven Spielberg’s epic WWII film ‘Saving Personal Ryan.’
Solely time will inform whether or not Fillion stays entrenched with Gunn within the DCU or makes an MCU return. Regardless, Fillion presently holds the file for taking part in probably the most characters within the MCU, a feat sure to stay intact for a while. That Fillion made all these MCU and DC appearances whereas headlining Citadel and The Rookie is much more spectacular.