Giancarlo Esposito has quickly become one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood, which is no great shock after his work in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. While the actor has been largely wasted in The Boys, the hope is that he will find a major comic book role in the Marvel or DC Universes (perhaps both) in the not-too-distant future.
Last month, Esposito revealed that he had been approached about a role in Loki, though he didn't elaborate on who Marvel Studios wanted him to play.
Mobius and even He Who Remains were among the names suggested by fans, though we now know The Mandalorian star actually came close to playing a Loki Variant in the MCU. Talking during the Rose City Comic-Con on Sunday (via Murphy's Multiverse), Esposito explained why it never happened.
"The truth of the story is this. about four years ago I met with Louis D’Esposito who [is] in the television unit of Marvel," the actor recalls. "And they had come to me to play possibly play Loki on the television side. And so I did not do [that part], and there were reasons for it. I think I wasn’t the one who was chosen [would] be the honest truth. But I would have maybe liked to do it."
"And then I thought when I wasn’t selected for that, that it would be great if I could be in a Marvel movie, not just a television show because I like films a lot," Esposito added, sharing his hopes to join a big screen MCU project. "I love television, obviously I had a great run in the television world, doing last year was four shows at one time and the year before five shows."
We're guessing Richard E. Grant's "Classic Loki" might be who Marvel Studios wanted Esposito for, though we can't help but think a one-and-done appearance would have been a waste of the actor.
It's possible he was eyed to play a Variant we didn't get to see, of course, but as a firm fan-favourite for characters like Professor X and Doctor Doom, we have to believe there's a movie role Marvel Studios can find for him. As per usual, we're going to have to wait and see what happens on that front.
Who do you think Esposito should play in the MCU?