Marvel Studios grabbed headlines with its presentation of the MCU Phase 4 slate at SDCC
2019.
And along with the intriguing new titles came some enticing cast announcements.
These are just some of the actors set to make a big splash in the MCU, along with some clues
as to where you've seen them before.
At the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios revealed some details of its long-anticipated
Black Widow standalone movie, including the confirmation that rising English star Florence
Pugh would portray a character named Yelena Belova, who the actress described as a "sister
figure" to Natasha Romanoff.
Pugh first appeared on screen in the 2014 British film The Falling.
From there she moved on to the romantic drama Lady Macbeth, which she followed with a role
as Cordelia in the 2018 TV movie version of King Lear.
More recently, she had roles in Chris Pine's 14th century Scottish epic Outlaw King and
AMC's assassin thriller miniseries The Little Drummer Girl.
Pugh is having a very good 2019; just before the announcement that she'd co-star in Black
Widow, she played a younger version of real-life WWE wrestler Paige in the well-received comedy
Fighting with My Family.
She followed that immediately with the lead role in Midsommar, the critical darling of
a horror movie about a weird Swedish cult and its not-so-innocuous solstice festival.
The upcoming Black Widow movie will also include a character named Rick Mason, a former S.H.I.E.L.D.
contact of Natasha's and a possible love interest.
Landing that pivotal role: London-born actor O-T Fagbenle.
His Black Widow gig is the role that will likely make him a household name, as up to
now he's primarily been a prolific actor on a variety of British television series not
widely known outside the U.K.
Though he started his career acting in plays, Fagbenle eventually began to balance his stage
work with TV, taking on parts in Britcoms like Grownups, FM, and Material Girl, along
with a couple of episodes of Doctor Who.
He got his first major exposure stateside on HBO's romantic drama Looking as Frank,
a guy with some relationship problems.
Fagbenle found his breakthrough role on Hulu's harrowing, Emmy-winning adaptation of Margaret
Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.
He plays Luke Bankhole, husband of June, prior to the dystopian revolution that resulted
in Gilead.
In December 2018, Marvel informed fans that a film about kung-fu master and superhero
Shang-Chi was on the way.
San Diego Comic-Con 2019 brought more news, including a full title of Shang-Chi and the
Legend of the Ten Rings, and confirmation that it would be Marvel's first movie headlined
by actors of Asian descent.
Among the lead cast: rapper and actress Awkwafina.
Though her role remains undisclosed, her meteoric rise in recent years makes her inclusion in
Marvel's exciting new enterprise very noteworthy.
Born under the name Nora Lum, Awkwafina first gained attention for her music.
Her songs are frequently funny and satirical, and that sense of humor led to supporting
roles in comedy movies and TV shows, such as sorority lady Christine in Neighbors 2
and a recurring role as a mean video game store employee on Future Man.
"Hey, um…you're still dating that, like, chemist guy, right?
The, the…professor dude?"
"Lyle?
No, we broke up.
I call him 'Professor Ex' now."
"That's funny."
Awkwafina broke out in a big way in the summer of 2018, appearing in two hit ensemble comedies
and nearly stealing them both: Ocean's 8 and Crazy Rich Asians.
Before you catch her in Shang-Chi when it hits theaters in February 2021, Awkwafina
can be seen in the lead role of indie dramedy The Farewell, and will soon appear in Jumanji:
The Next Level, the third SpongeBob Squarepants movie, and the live-action remake of The Little
Mermaid as Scuttle.
Chinese Canadian actor Simu Liu has built up a solid acting resume, appearing on many
television series filmed in the Great White North in extremely minor roles.
From there, though, he moved up to a recurring role on the Canadian crime drama Blood and
Water and the central role of estranged son Jung on the hit CBC sitcom Kim's Convenience.
Liu made his way into American television as ex-CIA guy Faaron on NBC's short-lived
TV adaptation of Taken, and worked as a stunt double on Heroes Reborn and Designated Survivor.
In the spring of 2019, he guest-starred on an episode of Fresh Off the Boat as a helpful
Taipei street vendor named Willie who helps out broke, lost main character Eddie.
Portraying Shang-Chi in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings marks Liu's first
starring role in a feature film.
Marvel's Phase 4 will include The Eternals, a story about alien immortals sent to Earth
to protect humanity.
Joining an already-star-studded cast is Brian Tyree Henry, who will portray Phastos.
Back in 2016, Henry found his breakout role: world-weary, late-blooming rapper Alfred Miles,
a.k.a.
Paper Boi, on Donald Glover's surreal FX dramedy Atlanta.
"I don't know, he's kinda funny.
I mean, he's hot right now you should work with him.
I'm speaking as your manager, you know?"
"Just 'cause you're dressed like a sixth grader, don't make you my manager, man."
Henry earned an Emmy nomination for his work, but that's not the only awards attention he's
received.
Before moving into television and movies, Henry put in some time on Broadway.
He acted and sang as part of the ensemble in The Book of Mormon, the musical by Trey
Parker and Matt Stone of South Park.
In 2018, he used part of his Atlanta hiatus to return to the Great White Way, starring
in the play Lobby Hero, for which he received a Tony Award nomination.
The exposure from Atlanta and Broadway helped Henry move into film, and he's landed supporting
roles in many major movies.
In 2018, Henry appeared in three acclaimed films: Widows, If Beale Street Could Talk,
and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, in which he lent his voice to the father of hero
Miles Morales.
Henry co-starred as Detective Mike Norris in the 2019 remake of Child's Play.
He's also set to appear in Joker, Godzilla vs. Kong, and A Quiet Place 2.
A lot of actors struggle for years to find work in major Hollywood blockbusters.
Others get a little luck added to their talent, and get asked to join the cast of, say, a
potentially huge Marvel Studios blockbuster with only a handful of screen credits to their
name.
The center of such a Hollywood success story: actress Lauren Ridloff, cast as alien superhuman
Makkari in Marvel's upcoming The Eternals.
She'll play the first-ever deaf hero in the MCU.
A former stay-at-home mom and Miss Deaf America, Ridloff got into acting when she landed a
part in If You Could Hear My Own Tune, a film about how deaf people perceive music.
Ridloff then appeared in the fantastical Wonderstruck, an episode of the CW supernatural series Legacies,
and on an installment of NBC's medical drama Margot.
Her most prominent role before The Eternals, however, was portraying Hilltop survivor Connie
during the ninth season of The Walking Dead.
Away from TV, Ridloff earned a Tony Award nomination for her work in a revival of Children
of a Lesser God.
At the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel announced that a reboot of Blade was on the way not
for its imminent slate of Marvel Cinematic Universe "phase 4" movies, but as part of
the distant "Phase 5."
Mahershala Ali, one of the most acclaimed actors of his generation, will be playing
the titular vampire hunter.
Just days before his introduction as the new Blade, Ali received an Emmy Award nomination
for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his work as a haunted Louisiana
crime investigator on HBO's True Detective.
And in February, 2019, Ali won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Green
Book in which he portrayed real-life pianist Dr. Donald Shirley opposite his driver/bodyguard
Tony, played by Viggo Mortensen.
"You've impressed several people with your innate ability to handle trouble.
And that is why I called and inquired about your availability."
That made for Ali's second Oscar in just three years he first won in 2017 for his work in
Moonlight.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige reported that spinning Oscar gold into comic book vampire
adventures was actually Ali's idea which just makes us even more excited to see what he
does with the role.
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