Yeah, you guessed it: another day, another provocative Marvel rumor.
Citing their ever-mysterious inside sources, We Got This Covered is now reporting that
Marvel Studios is considering DC leading light Henry Cavill for the role of Captain Britain
in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Now, as usual, it should go without saying that this rumor needs to be taken with a whole
shaker of salt.
We Got This Covered don't exactly have the best track record with Marvel news, and the
site's assertion that Cavill hasn't been contacted about the role but is instead on a "wish list"
doesn't seem to mesh with Marvel's usual commitment to total security.
Having said all that, however, Marvel has actually already planted the seeds for Captain
Britain's arrival in the MCU with a brief line in Avengers: Endgame.
It's hard to hear but when you have the closed captions on you can see that the name Braddock
get mentioned.
Otherwise known as Brian Braddock, Captain Britain first appeared in the pages of Marvel
comics all the way back in 1976.
And although you might assume otherwise, Braddock is anything but a simple British copy of Captain
America despite the two sharing similar names.
A gifted young physicist, Braddock was working on an experiment involving antimatter particles
when he had a fateful run-in with the supervillain Reaver, who was intent on stealing the research
for himself.
Braddock sustained what would have been fatal injuries when he crashed his motorcycle while
fleeing the scene but he was rescued by Merlin, who gifted him with the legendary Amulet of
Right.
Yeah, that Merlin.
In addition to saving his life, the Amulet of Right granted Braddock superpowers on par
with the mightiest of Earth's mightiest heroes.
He can fly, he's near-indestructible, he has Daredevil-esque sharpened senses, and he can
even take on some of the Marvel universe's most powerful heroes.
The only real drawback to all this is that his magically-imbued powers wane if he ventures
outside the U.K. unless he wears his special super-suit, of course.
Marvel die-hards have been fan casting Braddock since at least 2017, when Kevin Feige name-dropped
the character as one that he'd like to explore in the future.
On the press tour for Spider-Man: Homecoming, the producer was asked about whether the studio
had plans to introduce Captain Britain.
We have discussed it.
There are a lot of actors that come in and ask about that part, so we'll have to see."
Of course, it's likely that fan castings are the real source of the Cavill rumor, too.
In September 2018, Twitter users raised the possibility of Cavill playing Captain Britain
after it was reported that he had finished playing Superman for Warner Brothers.
Mostly, this flurry of scuttlebut was based around the fact that Cavill is square-jawed,
British, and looks good in a superhero suit.
And that should be enough, right?
But Cavill himself has done nothing whatsoever to fuel these flames, and there are actually
a number of other British actors who have expressed their own interest in playing the
role, too.
One of these is Simon Pegg, who told JoBlo in 2018 that he had loved the character when
he was a kid and even had his own Captain Britain mask.
Pegg has proven his action bonafides with roles in the Star Trek and Mission: Impossible
franchises over the last few years, but he did mention at the time that he feared he
may be too old for a major superhero role.
Considering he's currently 49 years old, that seems to hold true.
Another name that keeps popping up in relation to Captain Britain is Orlando Bloom, who threw
his name into the conversation during an interview at around the same time as Pegg.
Heck, even Tom Hiddleston has expressed interest in taking on the role, but that seems likely
to have been a joke, considering… well, you know.
“Surprise.”
It's also worth noting that, while it was widely reported last year that Cavill had
split from Warner Brothers and DC, this break-up has never actually been officially confirmed.
In the wake of those reports, the studio issued a statement saying that it has, quote, "a
great relationship and great respect" for Cavill, and that "no current decisions regarding
any upcoming Superman films" had been made.
And while the franchise has been undergoing an extensive recalibration as of late, it's
certainly not outside the realm of possibility to think that Cavill could eventually return
to the role of Superman.
All in all, this Cavill rumor appears to be highly suspect, and there's honestly a good
chance that it's all a bunch of malarkey.
Still, you never know.
And either way, you're best keeping your eyes peeled because Brian Braddock could still
be popping up in the MCU sometime soon, whether Cavill takes the role or not.
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