As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues 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 the MCU’s best movies, with the mix of talents making the MCU a popular franchise that many Hollywood stars want to join.

Recently, Harrison Ford made waves after not only joining the MCU but playing Red Hulk of all characters. It is evident that working at Marvel Studios is not only mᴀssive 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, the MCU’s upcoming movies could feature a few of the Hollywood stars who have revealed their dream Marvel roles and desire to join the shared universe.

10

Michael 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 for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, five years after Boseman’s tragic pᴀssing, a new MCU report claims Marvel wants to recast T’Challa. More than that, an actor has reportedly pᴀssed on the role.

Having played Killmonger, who has died in the MCU, Michael B. Jordan would be perfect for T’Challa. The report claimed Black 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 that Black 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.

9

Keanu 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 that Marvel talks with Reeves for nearly every movie they make in 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 that his 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.

8

Cynthia Erivo

Storm

Cynthia Erivo recently starred in one of the best and most talked about movies of 2025. The potent singer and nuanced actress brought to life the iconic witch Elphaba in Wicked. 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.

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 by The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes writer Michael Lesslie. Reportedly, the film will be female-focused, so Erivo could make Storm one of the leads.

7

Norman Reedus

Ghost Rider

While Keanu Reeves wants to be the MCU’s Ghost Rider, he will meet fierce compeтιтion 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 for playing Daryl Dixon in The Walking ᴅᴇᴀᴅ and its spinoff, The Walking ᴅᴇᴀᴅ: Daryl Dixon.

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Reedus’ The Walking ᴅᴇᴀᴅ character has the same no-nonsense atтιтude Ghost Rider is known for. In the zombie show and movies like 2023’s The 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.”

6

Dwayne 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 Adam was not a major hit. With the creation of James Gunn’s DCU, The Rock’s character was left behind.

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This frees the actor to play his dream Marvel role. Back in 2013, Kevin Feige told Collider that Johnson’s name had come up at Marvel, and he hoped the actor would join the MCU one day. The Rock then commented on Twitter that he would love to play Luke Cage. Since Mike Colter has not been announced to return as Luke Cage after his Netflix series, Johnson could replace him.

5

Matthew 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 ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine. The character is a member of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool 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’ ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool.

Years before he joined the MCU, McConaughey tried to play his dream Marvel character. The actor reached out to the studio to try to play the Hulk before Mark Ruffalo was cast as Bruce Banner. The actor’s desire to play Banner stems from his love of Lou Ferrigno’s The Incredible Hulk series. 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.

4

Janelle Monáe

Storm

If it is up to Janelle Monáe, Wicked‘s Cynthia Erivo will face compeтιтion 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 with Empire in 2020, Monáe revealed that she talked to actors from Marvel’s Black Panther franchise about playing Storm in 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 filming Black 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.

3

Ryan Gosling

Ghost Rider

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 how Kevin Feige said he would love to find a place for Gosling in the MCU, Gosling told his The Fall Guy co-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.

2

Keke Palmer

Rogue

Rogue was one of the most talked about Marvel characters of 2024. With the animated X-Men ’97, Marvel Studios showed that it understands the X-Men and 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 sH๏τs of her in Rogue cosplay.

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It all started when fans suggested she would be perfect for the role. Speaking with ComicBook.com, Keke Palmer said she was “ready for Rogue.” In that same year, the actress shared a video and sH๏τs 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’s Nope, would be perfect for the MCU’s Rogue.

1

Rhenzy Feliz

Miles Morales

Finally, closing out the list is Rhenzy Feliz, who has Marvel and DC roles in his resume. The actor first played Alex Wilder in Marvel’s Runaways. Recently, Feliz gave life to his most prestigious comic book role to date. The actor played Victor Aguilar in HBO’s The Penguin. The crime drama has opened up The Batman universe in exciting ways, and after Victor was killed by Oz Cobb, Feliz is free to take his talents to Marvel.

Speaking with Kristian 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 dream MCU role.

All Announced Upcoming MCU Movies

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  Captain America: Brave New World

  Release Date

  
  February 14, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Thunderbolts*

  Release Date

  
  May 2, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

  Release Date

  
  July 25, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Spider-Man Homecoming 4

  Release Date

  
  July 24, 2026
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

  Release Date

  
  May 7, 2027
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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