Get your salt shakers handy, but Zac Efron might be joining the Marvel Universe. Well, at least Latino Review is wishing really hard it’ll happen.
If you’re wondering why I’m a wee bit skeptical, well, Latino Review isn’t exactly reliable on these things. That said, here’s all the factual information Latino Review claims to have:
We can exclusively report that Zac Efron is being looked at for unspecified role in an upcoming Marvel Studios project. He was given a script for the project just recently and currently no one knows which part is actually in play. The only one that knows that answer is his Manager and he will not comment on it.
So, basically, Zac Efron might be in a Marvel movie. But the post also closes with this tidbit, which I admit raised an eyebrow:
What’s not speculation is Marvel wants Efron, like everyone wants Efron, because “Neighbors” is hot. Disney declined to comment.
No, actually that’s… pretty heavy speculation. Nonetheless, it’s likely true Efron has been sent a script, although everybody with earning power gets a script just on general principle. If it is the case, however, that Efron is deeply interested, he’s not reading for a major Marvel character.
Marvel likes its leading men cheap. Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt…huh, Marvel really likes the name “Chris.” Anyway, they all have another unifying factor as a lead man, and that’s “working for relative peanuts.” Admittedly these guys got paid more than you and I will see in a year, but $300,000 to $500,000 is cheap by Hollywood standards.
Efron ranks a bit higher, especially with a huge hit movie freshly in theaters, and Marvel tends to put the movie stars in secondary roles, where you get the name recognition. Black Widow is the most obvious example, but other examples include Nick Fury, Pepper Potts, Hank Pym, Jane Foster, and Alexander Pierce. Between them, Marvel’s backing players have more hits, name recognition, and Oscars than the main lead. The only exception lately has been Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, and rumor has it Rudd took the job for less than he usually commands because he wanted to work with Edgar Wright.
It’s unlikely they’re going to switch that up, not when the movies are making more cash than ever. So essentially Efron is either reading for a boyfriend role, or he’s reading for a minor character that will pop up repeatedly throughout the franchise, probably as a villain or annoyance. Personally? I’m rooting for Henry Gyrich.