Mel Gibson Says He Was Offered The Role Of 'Odin' In The First THOR; Comments On Formulaic Superhero Movies
Looks like we almost had a very different take on the Asgardian Allfather in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as Mel Gibson turned down the role that ultimately went to Sir Anthony Hopkins...
If the rumor is to be believed, Robert Downey Jr. has been courting Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapon, Braveheart, drunken racist rants) to helm the fourth Iron Man movie - but as it turns out, the Aussie actor/director almost joined the MCU family 5 years ago.
In an interview with The Guardian, Gibson was asked if he'd ever had the opportunity to star in a superhero movie, and replied: "Yeah, long time ago, to play Thor’s dad. But I didn’t do it.” Of course the role ultimately went to Anthony Hopkins, who will return as Odin in Thor: Ragnarok - but is there a chance Gibson would decide to play a different comic book character at some point in the future? Anything is possible, but from the sounds of things it wouldn't be the actor's favourite genre... a few notable exceptions aside.
"Some are good. Some are kind of funny … ‘Guardians of the Galaxy.’ Or the first ‘Iron Man.’ And some of them are just like [retreads]. I mean you can watch them do Spider-Man five times … There is a slight shift in film. But, then again, I think all films are suffering from people not being able to now open them with their name.
It’s a different kind of business these days. I think you used to get more variety of stories, films and performances. You had more of a chance of a profound film experience. But that’s not gone. I think that has been relegated to the independent world – but they have to do it twice as fast for half the money.”
Do you think Gibson would have made a good Odin? Which other characters could you see him as? Thor: Ragnarok hits theaters in 2017.