More and more, Oscar winners and nominees are joining the MCU, and the names keep getting bigger. Angelina Jolie will (eventually) make her Marvel Studios debut in The Eternals, and former Batman Christian Bale will portray the villainous Korg the Conqueror in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love And Thunder. Now, the MCU has reportedly nabbed a few new A-lister editions, one of whom will make his first superpowered turn while joining Oscar Isaac in Disney+’s Moon Knight series, and the other who has already cameo-d twice for properties associated with Marvel comics.
One of those properties happened to be a straight-up MCU entry, Thor: Ragnarok, so yes, we’re talking about Matt Damon, who made a surprise cameo as a Loki cosplayer of sorts while he portrayed the role of the trickster in an Asgardian theater company production. Damon’s rendition was written as much more sympathetic to the plight of Loki than conventional Marvel Studios lore has painted him, and now, Australia’s news.com is reporting that Damon is quarantining in Australia while preparing for a mystery role in Thor: Love And Thunder alongside Chris Hemsworth, Tessa Thompson, Natalie Portman, and possibly the real Loki (Tom Hiddleston) as well.
The outlet speculates whether Damon will reprise his Ragnarok role again while noting that quarantine might be too much trouble unless he’s playing “a larger role.” However, I’d wager that any excuse (even another mere cameo) to hop onboard a private jet and get the heck out of the U.S. would be worth it, even with the quarantine involved. And who knows, his role could totally go off the rails and be something completely different. He could even pick up a variation of his Deadpool 2 yokel-cameo character, given that the Merc with a Mouth is also now part of the MCU. Anything could happen! We are truly in the Wild Wild West these days.
Speaking of wild and western, Ethan Hawke is reportedly following his fire-breathing performance in the proto-Western The Good Lord Bird with a role in Disney+’s upcoming Moon Knight series. According to Hollywood Reporter, Hawke will be stepping aboard as lead villain in opposition to Oscar Isaac’s protagonist. Of course, this development is stirring up how Hawke previously drew a distinction between “a fine superhero movie” and “a great movie” while talking about Logan to FilmStage (via ComicBook.com). He later clarified to Collider that he was “a comic book geek… The idea that I’m the one criticizing them is a joke.” He also emphasized his desire to teach his son that “being a geek is being real. That’s what it means: I’m gonna be real.”
Well, it looks like Ethan Hawke will be getting both geeky and real, and Matt Damon’s gonna be doing the same, once again.
