Understandably, many actors think twice before joining a franchise as huge as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, even amid seemingly endless talk of "superhero fatigue," some realise that getting into business with Marvel Studios can be a wise career move.
Orange is the New Black and Russian Doll star Natasha Lyonne recently boarded the cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps in a mystery role. She'll next be seen alongside MCU vet Elizabeth Olsen in Netflix's His Three Daughters, but did the Scarlet Witch actor offer her co-star any advice?
Talking to Total Film, Olsen explained why she didn't find that necessary.
"No, she needs no advice," the WandaVision star admitted. "She can handle her own in the world. She's a very tough broad. She knows she can navigate any situation, I think."
"She's one of the smartest people I've ever met," Carrie Coon, who played Proxima Midnight in Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and What If...? chimed in to say.
Lyonne is also no stranger to superhero movies after previously playing Sommerfield, a member of the Nightstalkers, in Blade: Trinity.
"It’s funny when you are the writer, the creator, the director and the star and you have 13 nominations or whatever, and it’s not like, 'Here’s a bunch of Marvel movies,'" Lyonne said last year of the impact Russian Doll's success has had on her career. "In fact, they’re like, 'Oh, now we see you as potentially intimidating.'"
"I don’t even mean anything to Marvel," she added. "And it can be unintentional. I think a lot of it is people trying to be generous, almost saying, 'Oh, I didn’t know you’d want to do that kind of thing. Like, you created 'PEN15,' why would you want to...' And I don’t know those ladies personally, but I don’t suddenly see them on billboards all over the city for rom-coms or whatever."
Lyonne's role remains a mystery to us, though many fans are convinced she's either playing H.E.R.B.I.E. or Alicia Masters. Nothing has been confirmed as we write this, so we'll just have to wait and see.
Marvel Studios has announced that Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing) will lead The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast.
We'll also see Ralph Ineson as Galactus, Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer, and Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, and Natasha Lyonne in mystery roles. The story sees Galactus and Silver Surfer target Earth for destruction.
Director Matt Shakman worked with both Avatar: The Way of Water co-writer Josh Friedman and WandaVision's Cam Squires on The Fantastic Four: First Steps' screenplay, with Eric Pearson (Black Widow) later coming on board for a final polish.
The movie is set to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.