As the slate of future Marvel films gets closer and closer, the casting rumors come fast and furious. Here’s a couple casting rumors currently heating up the Internet.
Collider.com is reporting that The Hurt Locker star Jeremy Renner is in talks for Hawkeye in The Avengers.
Hawkeye is Clint Barton. In the mainstream Marvel universe, he was an cocky, outspoken ex-villain who had returned and became one of the earliest Avengers. In the Ultimate version of Marvel, he is a military man who is an expert marksman in a wide variety of weapons. Whichever way the film producers go, Renner is an ideal fit for the role.
You might think having an Oscar nominee in what is essentially a supporting role might not make all that much sense, but you have to consider The Avengers to be a great big try out for the next wave of Marvel films, so it might set the stage for a Hawkeye film starring Renner in the future.
The other big piece of possible casting news comes from Dateline New York, which is reporting that Neal McDonough may be in negotiations to play Dum Dum Dugan in Captain America:The First Avenger.
In the comics, Timothy “Dum Dum” Dugan was Nick Fury’s right hand both in World War II as a member of the Howling Commandos and in the present day in S.H.I.E.L.D. (The character ingested a formula that extends their lives and delays their aging). Since the film will mostly be set during WWII, you’d have to assume it will be that era’s Dum Dum on display. What this means as to Samuel L. Jackson’s involvement in the film is anybody’s guess.
McDonough is a familiar face from such projects as Minority Report, Walking Tall, and 88 Minutes. This is not the first time he’s worked with a comic book related project, as he voiced Bruce Banner in the 1996 version of the Incredible Hulk cartoon.
Collider had earlier reported the Lost’s Josh Holloway was rumored to be in discussions with Marvel in regards to these two roles and Ant-Man. Since these two roles look to be offered to other actors, it brings up the enticing possibility of Holloway as Hank Pym.
