With the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the MCU has now unlocked the seemingly unlimited possibilities of multiple film franchise-minging within its own films. There has already been tons of speculation that the MCU will include characters from past Marvel films in Sam Raimi’s upcoming Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, like Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine from the X-Men film franchise and Eric Bana’s Bruce Banner from Hulk. Of course, this also opens up the potential for bringing in actors from pre-2000s Marvel films as well. Here’s our multiversal assembling of The Avengers using past characters from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
8 Nick Fury - David Hasselhoff, Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1998)
In this made-for-tv Fox film, David Hasselhoff straps on the eyepatch to portray the gruff founder of The Avengers Initiative. Fury and his team of SHIELD operatives must work together to defeat Hydra in this lesser-seen Marvel adaptation. Though the film had a $6 million budget, it was mostly met with negative reviews, and the show that was supposed to spawn from its success was promptly cancelled. Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. was directed by Rod Hardy, who worked on successful tv series’ like The X-Files and Battlestar Galactica. Surprisingly the story was written by David S. Goyer, a seasoned comic writer and screenplay writer for Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. We can only imagine the look on Samuel L. Jackson’s face if he came face-to-face with the Hasselhoff version of Nick Fury.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
7 Captain America - Reb Brown, Captain America & Captain America II: Death Too Soon (1979)
Before the days of Chris Evans’ Captain America, or even the 1990 portrayal by Matt Salinger, B-movie action star Reb Brown donned the shield, the helmet, and, most interestingly, the high-tech motorcycle in Captain America (1979). In an extremely loose origin story, Steve Rogers becomes Captain America after taking a super-steroid made from his father’s blood, in order to heal his critical injury. Rogers’ father was Captain America before him, and Steve doesn’t really become Cap until the last scene of the first film. In the follow-up sequel, Captain America II: Death Too Soon (1979), Brown returns as Rogers, and with his new high-tech glider, he must catch fraudulent check-cashing criminals and aging-serum creating mad scientists.
Actors Who Could Play Captain America if Rogers: The Musical Happened
6 The Hulk - Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno, The Incredible Hulk (1970s-1990s)
Over the course of three decades, Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno teamed up to portray Dr. David Banner—not Bruce!—and the Hulk in an 80-episode TV series, and three made-for-tv films. Rather than use CGI to bulk up the transformation from human to Hulk, as the films did with Eric Bana, Edward Norton, and Mark Ruffalo, bodybuilding giant Lou Ferrigno was chosen and the two characters were cast separately. Ferrigno even beat out a young Arnold Schwarzenegger for the role. After the series, the two would return in The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988) where Hulk would meet Thor, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989), where Hulk teams up with Daredevil to battle a John Rhys-Davies-portrayed Kingpin, and The Death of the Incredible Hulk (1990), which met a fatal end to the characters. Revenge of the Incredible Hulk was planned in the 90s, but was ultimately canceled after Bill Bixby’s death from cancer. Obviously Bixby couldn’t return in a speaking role, but CGI magic was used to bring his visual character back to life.
5 Thor - Eric Allen Kramer, The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988)
In an extremely different adaptation of the Norse God, Dr. David Banner’s student, Donald Blake, reveals that while on an expedition in Norway, he came across an enchanted hammer, containing the soul of Thor, who had been banned from Valhalla. Upon release, Thor swears service to Blake, and a battle ensues between Thor and Hulk. Unfortunately, this battle is a bit less extravagant than the fights we get in the newer MCU films. Thor is played by Eric Allen Kramer, who most film-lovers would know as Little John from Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men in Tights.
4 Daredevil - Rex Smith, The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989)
Since Charlie Cox’s Daredevil has already been confirmed for the MCU, bringing in the OG Matt Murdock from The Trial of the Incredible Hulk would be pretty cool. In this 1989 film, Daredevil and Hulk team up to defeat the crime lord known as Kingpin (John Rhys-Davies). Rex Smith’s Daredevil never reveals the classic red suit, but pulls off the classic black suit we’re all so familiar with from the first season of Netflix’s Daredevil. Despite the film’s actual title, the Hulk never actually goes on trial. This made-for-tv film was also the film debut of Stan Lee’s appearances in Marvel films.
3 Spider-Man - Nicholas Hammond, The Amazing Spider-Man (1977)
This one seems particularly possible after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. In 1977, Stan Lee sold the live-action rights of Spider-Man to CBS, who produced a primetime series. Though Lee disagreed with the direction, the series kicked off with a 90-minute pilot movie of the first two episodes. Nicholas Hammond took the main role as Peter Parker, and all the stunts were performed by the series’ stunt coordinator, Fred Waugh. The 13-episode series was canceled after ratings plummeted, probably due to the lack of any well-known Spider-Man villains or comic-style storylines. The series did show the first appearance of the spider-tracer homing device, which has been used many times in the new MCU films. Eventually, Columbia pictures packaged the series as a three-film release, calling them Spider-Man, Spider-Man Strikes Back, and Spider-Man: The Dragon’s Challenge.
Spider-Man: No Way Home Writers Hope the Film’s Secret Stars Get Their Own Sequels
2 Blade - Wesley Snipes, Blade (1999)
Mahershala Ali is an incredibly talented actor, and will do an amazing job as Blade in the MCU, but there was a collective sigh of disappointment among Marvel fans when Wesley Snipes wasn’t brought back for the upcoming role. With that being said, a lot of people don’t realize that, in the comics, Blade was invited to join the Avengers in hopes to lead a team against a group of bloodthirsty vampire villains. Snipes did an excellent job of portraying the slick, no-nonsense personality of Marvel’s most hardcore half-vampire in three Blade films. With the MCU’s love for fan-pleasing, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Wesley Snipes pop up in the future of the Multiverse.
1 Doctor Strange - Peter Hooten, Dr. Strange (1978)
In what would be the most relevant and possible appearance from this list, Peter Hooten could certainly appear in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. In this 1978 made-for-tv film created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee, Stephen Strange must choose between mortality of a normal human or becoming the immortal Sorcerer Supreme in order to defend the Earth from the magical mistress known as Morgan le Fay. Though the film tanked and took the prospective tv-series with it, Stan Lee said his experience and input with this film were the best throughout the early Marvel films. The 71-year-old Hooten could be a great way to introduce Morgan le Fay into the MCU, especially after the events of WandaVision and the inclusion of Agatha Harkness.
