Ben Barnes played Billy Russo/Jigsaw in The Punisher, but he very nearly returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe...as a completely different character (which once again leaves us wondering what place, if any, those Netflix shows have in this shared world's continuity).
Talking to Rotten Tomatoes, the actor revealed that The Falcon and The Winter Soldier director Kari Skogland "actually messaged me saying she was doing [The Falcon and the Winter Soldier] and that there might be a character for me in it. And I was just about to do Shadow and Bone, so I didn’t even know what it might be."
Looking at the series, it seems likely that Skogland was considering Barnes for the role of John Walker/Captain America, a character he would have suited well based on what we saw from him in The Punisher. Of course, it's possible the filmmaker had something else in mind for the actor, and he'd have made a solid addition to the Flag-Smashers.
Skogland worked with Barnes on an episode of The Punisher and 2015's Sons of Liberty.
It would make sense for the actor to be part of a future MCU project, and while it was Skogland who expressed interest in casting him, we're sure Barnes is now on Marvel Studios' radar.
Check out the actor's comments below:
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could use The Defenders characters in the MCU!
10. Eternals Reintroduces The Concept Of The Iron Fist
In recent Marvel Comics, it's been revealed that a woman name Fan Fei held the mantle of the Iron Fist thousands of years before Danny Rand came on to the scene.
She later banded together with Agamotto, Lady Phoenix, Odin, and Stone Age versions of Black Panther, Ghost Rider, and Star Brand to form an early version of The Avengers, and together, they managed to repel an attack from an ancient Celestial. Needless to say, you can probably see how that would tie into the events of the history-spanning Eternals movie.
This could be a really cool tease for what's to come with Iron Fist in the not too distant future...
9. The MCU's Heroes For Hire
It's crazy that with two seasons of Luke Cage, two seasons or Iron Fist, and a season of The Defenders, all we got was a couple of teases that Luke and Danny Rand might one day form "Heroes for Hire."
This would be an incredible way to reintroduce both characters, and a great fit for Disney+. It could make for an entertaining movie too, of course, but exploring their friendship in depth and having them tackles cases on a weekly basis would do the comic books justice in a big way.
The "Heroes for Hire" concept is one that is completely different to anything else in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and could give Marvel Studios the chance to address some relevant, timely topics.
8. Jessica Jones Goes To High School/College With Peter Parker
Jessica Jones is a character who was retconned into the Marvel Universe by writer Brian Michael Bendis. It turns out that years before becoming a Private Eye, Jessica went to the same school as Peter Parker and even had a crush on the nerdy superhero (he never really noticed her, though).
While this would serve as something of a slow burn approach to Jessica's reintroduction, having her go to school (or college) with Peter could be a really cool way of hitting the rest button on the P.I.
As a new ally to the web-slinger, Jess could help him out when it comes to his web-slinging activities, all while dealing with her newfound abilities as she becomes the superhero known to fans as Jewel.
7. Daredevil Represents Spider-Man In Court
While the signs are all pointing to Spider-Man 3 possibly being some sort of "Spider-Verse" adventure, we're still hoping that Peter Parker will be forced to answer for supposedly killing Mysterio.
The web-slinger clearing his name is a must (even if people still view him as a "menace" thanks to J. Jonah Jameson), and who better to represent him in court than a returning Matt Murdock? This would be a great way to reintroduce the character to moviegoers, and if it leads to a team-up between Spider-Man and Daredevil...well, it goes without saying that would be amazing.
If this doesn't happen in Spider-Man 3, then we're keeping everything crossed for Spider-Man 4.
6. Moon Knight Battles The Punisher
As incredible as Jon Bernthal was as Frank Caste, both seasons of The Punisher were a tad underwhelming. They became too bogged down in conspiracies to really explore what makes this violent vigilante tick, but it would be a great shame to see Marvel Studios now cast a different actor in the role.
Looking ahead at what's to come in Phase 4, the Moon Knight TV series coming to Disney+ is undoubtedly the best possible place to bring Frank back to small screen (even if he is toned down).
As the panel above proves, there's a really unique and fun dynamic between The Punisher and Marc Spector, and they could very easily team-up for a one-off adventure. With that, the Marvel Cinematic Universe would have a Punisher again, a character who could make recurring appearances all over.
5. Luke Cage, Mentor To Miles Morales
The comic books have never really explored a relationship between Miles Morales and Luke Cage, but having Power Man serve as a mentor to the young web-slinger in the MCU would be a blast.
In the Spider-Man: Miles Morales video game, the hero moves to Harlem, and that just so happens to also be Cage's home. These two striking up a friendship could have all the makings of something special, particularly if Miles serves as the new Spider-Man after Peter Parker's death.
This would be a fresh direction for both characters, and a new way to make use of Luke Cage on screen.
4. Jessica Jones Returns In She-Hulk
Jennifer Walters is coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe via the She-Hulk TV series coming to Disney+. Rumour has it that she's going to be a lawyer who specialises in superhuman law, so we wouldn't be remotely surprised if it's actually her representing Peter Parker in court at some point!
In that show, Jennifer might need some help from a local private eye, and that's where Jessica Jones would come in. These two are firm friends in the comics too, so this makes a lot of sense.
Krysten Ritter could reprise the role, but it might not be a bad idea to reinvent Jessica here, possibly ditching her alcoholism and ties to the Purple Man. Yes, that's a huge part of who she is in the source material, but it will boil down to how much Marvel Studios wants to distant this new version from what fans saw on Netflix (which definitely took her to a lot of very dark places).
3. Iron Fist vs. Shang-Chi
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings reportedly includes an underground fight tournament which the titular hero will need to win in order to get his hands on the Ten Rings for The Mandarin.
What if, during that contest, the Master of Martial Arts crosses paths with Danny Rand? These two are firm friends and allies in the comic books, and while having Shang-Chi defeat Iron Fist in his first big screen appearance might not be the best way to have some moviegoers meet him for the first time.
The movie could still tease his existence, though (perhaps he was the last victor of a tournament like this), and it would be no bad thing to see them team-up in a sequel to this first Shang-Chi movie.
2. Spider-Man Battles The Kingpin Of Crime
Long before he was a Daredevil villain, Wilson Fisk battled Spider-Man. As much as we love the Man Without Fear, it wouldn't be the end of the world to leave him on the shelf a little longer and make use of The Kingpin in the meantime (it makes him a more established baddie too).
As great as it's been to see Peter Parker take on colourful villains like The Vulture and Mysterio, watching the web-slinger tackle crime in the Big Apple has just as much potential to be a compelling story.
Someone like the Hobgoblin or Black Cat could be working for Fisk in this movie - we're guessing it would be Spider-Man 4 - and that would set the stage nicely for the Kingpin of Crime to one day hire the likes of Bullseye and Elektra to do his bidding. Should Vincent D'Onofrio return? Absolutely.
1. Don't Save Daredevil, Reboot Him (With Charlie Cox)
Daredevil was a good series, but it wasn't a great one. Season one didn't put the Man Without Fear into his costume until the finale, season two was hit-and-miss, and while the third was an improvement, it was far from perfect (did we really need to spend so much time with Karen Page?).
So, no, we don't want Marvel Studios to "save" Daredevil. The character needs to be rebooted, though we would be very happy seeing Charlie Cox given the chance to reprise the role of Matt Murdock.
The actor was terrific in the role, and could do wonders with the right creative input. For starters, we'd love to see him get a proper costume as that was always missing in the Netflix series. If Jamie Foxx can get another shot of Electro, then so too should Cox as Daredevil.