David Tennant provided one of the best villain performances we’ve ever seen in the MCU in the first season of Netflix’s Jessica Jones. He was both chilling and charming as the evil, mind-controlling Kilgrave, a role he reprised for cameo appearances in seasons 2 and 3. It’s no surprise, then, that Marvel apparently wants to make the most of the Scottish star and get him back in the franchise. Only this time, as a different character.
Sources close to We Got This Covered – the same ones who revealed that the studio was developing a She-Hulk show and that Black Knight was coming to the MCU – say that Marvel is keen to work with Tennant again but that there are no plans to resurrect the Purple Man. At this stage, Kevin Feige is said to not care anymore about the potential continuity clashes that come from the same people playing separate roles and just wants whoever’s best for the part.
As for if there’s a specific gig Tennant is being eyed for, that’s unclear right now. Often, Feige will simply know that he wants to work with a star and will wait to find a character that fits them. For instance, he’s admitted that he approaches Keanu Reeves for basically every movie they produce. Tennant has been rumored to be in the running for Nightmare in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but so have many others, both male and female, so it’s unclear if that’s the part the studio wants him in.
That we’re hearing Feige is unbothered about recasting actors fits with recent announcements for Phase 4, though. Mahershala Ali is the new Blade, for instance, even though he previously played Cottonmouth in Luke Cage. And then there’s Gemma Chan landing the role of Sersi in The Eternals just months after portraying Minn-Erva in Captain Marvel. I guess 11 years in, Marvel has already used up a heck of a lot of stars and is now having to recycle them a little bit.