So far, Marvel Studios’ films have mostly had solid villains. The greatest of them is clearly Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who was the antagonist in Thor and this summer's The Avengers (he will also return for next year's Thor: The Dark World). Red Skull (Hugo Weaving, Captain America: The First Avenger) and HYDRA, Iron Monger (Jeff Bridges, Iron Man), Abomination (Tim Roth, The Incredible Hulk), Whiplash (Mickey Rourke, Iron Man 2), Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell, Iron Man 2), Frost Giants (Thor), and even Thanos (Damion Poitier, The Avengers) have all made appearances in the MCU. Future villains include Iron Man 3's Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) and Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), as well as Thor: The Dark World's Malekith The Accursed (Christopher Eccleston). Of course, there are many great Marvel villains that need to have their turn on the big screen. Below, I listed nine villains (technically ten) who I would love to see appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Perhaps Marvel could have some of these villains join together and form the Masters Of Evil (set each of them in a movie up in a similar way to how The Avengers were set up).
Baron Zemo
I'm not a fan of the majority of Captain America's villains, but Baron Helmut Zemo is a formidable adversary of the Sentinel Of Liberty (and is probably Cap's greatest foe next to Red Skull). He's certainly worthy of a big screen appearance in the near future. Fingers crossed that we see Zemo make some sort of appearance in 2014's Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I also think that he should be a Masters Of Evil leader (similar to Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes) in a future movie.
Who Should Play Him? Two words: Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Bastards). I've seen him listed as a popular choice for Norman Osborn, but in my opinion, the Austrian-German actor is better suited for Baron Zemo.
Ultron
Most comic book fans would agree that Hank Pym's creation must take on The Avengers at some point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A powerful antagonist, Ultron is certainly one of The Avengers' greatest enemies. I would love to see the villain set up in Edgar Wright's Ant-Man film (rumored to be releasing in 2014), and have him be the villain in The Avengers 2 (if Thanos isn’t the villain in that).
Who Should Play Him? Since Ewan McGregor (Star Wars) is my pick for Ant-Man/Hank Pym, I'd also like to see him voice Ultron.
Kang The Conqueror
After seeing him in Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, I became a big fan of the villainous Kang. He's proven himself to be a strong physical threat against The Avengers. As long as they don't go over another alien invasion in detail (ala Loki's army in the first Avengers), Kang needs to be featured in a future film.
Who Should Play Him? Jared Harris (Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows) is my choice to play The Conqueror. He can easily play an intimidating villain.
Enchantress/Executioner
Some may notice the lack of female villains in the MCU. I think the beautiful yet evil Enchantress would be a perfect female adversary for Marvel to use. And of course, her bodyguard Executioner is never far behind. It's been rumored that Enchantress at least would appear in Thor: The Dark World, but nothing has been confirmed yet.
Who Should Play Them? Alice Eve (Men In Black 3) would make an excellent Enchantress; she looks so much like the character, and was previously up for the Emma Frost role in X-Men: First Class. Robert Malliet (Sherlock Holmes) has the looks and muscle to play Executioner.
Klaw
Ulysses Klaw is another powerful villain, perhaps best known as an enemy of T'Challa/Black Panther. Seeing him face off against The Avengers (preferably as a part of The Masters Of Evil) would be fun. I hope he appears in the planned Black Panther movie (whenever it comes out, of course).
Who Should Play Him? William Fitchner (The Dark Knight) has the looks and the acting chops necessary to bring Klaw to life. Casino Royale's Mads Mikkelsen (who was previously up for the Malekith role in Thor: The Dark World) would also be a very good choice.
Red Hulk
I've noticed that there are quite a few comic book fans who don't care for Rulk (Thunderbolt Ross). I personally think he's a cool villain, and would love to see him in a future Hulk film. There aren’t a lot of great Hulk villains, but Rulk is one of the better foes for the Green Goliath. Plus, who wouldn't want to see William Hurt "Hulk Out"?
Who Should Play Him? Since Hurt was perfect as Ross in The Incredible Hulk, he should reprise the role in the future. I was disappointed that he was entirely absent in The Avengers.
Crossbones
Another one of Captain America's few good villains, Crossbones is perhaps best known for appearing to be responsible for Steve Rogers' assassination immediately after Marvel Comics’ Civil War. He would make a cool big screen villain, perhaps as an enemy alongside a bigger foe. Only problem is that Crossbones is another "skull" villain (like Red Skull), so Marvel may or may not be in a hurry to use a character that's too comparable to a prior one.
Who Should Play Him? Crossbones is a tricky character to cast. Joe Mangeniello (True Blood) wouldn't be a bad choice; he certainly has the build for the character.
The Leader
You can't have a Hulk movie series without his primary antagonist. Seeing Leader (Dr. Samuel Sterns) fight the Green Goliath in the next Hulk film would be awesome, and something that comic book fans should really appreciate. I'd also like to see Leader fight alongside Abomination in a future film.
Who Should Play Him? Tim Blake Nelson did a good job playing Samuel Sterns in The Incredible Hulk , so I'd like to see him play the character's villainous alter ego in a sequel as well.
Galactus
The Devourer of Worlds would be a difficult one to add to the MCU. Currently owned by 20th Century Fox, Marvel reportedly offered the studio more time to keep the Daredevil film rights in exchange for the rights to Galactus and Silver Surfer (a deal which may or may not be made). But if Marvel regains Big G, then he would easily be The Avengers' biggest threat to date.
Who Should Play Him? I really like the idea of Peter Cullen (Transformers) playing Galactus. Cullen has the needed voice for the character.
These are the villains that I most want to see in future Marvel Studios movies. Feel free to vote in the poll below and/or share your thoughts in the comments.
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