7 actresses we’d love to see join the MCU and who they could play
By Shaun Stacy
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe moves forward with a heavy emphasis on female characters, we’re taking a look at some of the actresses we’d like to see appear and which characters they could play.
With the success of Netflix’s Jessica Jones and the first Captain Marvel film, Marvel Studios clearly sees the advantage in having female superheroes featured front and center.
The studio has vowed to be more inclusive of female, LGBTQ+, and POC characters going forward, which includes several upcoming projects like The Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, along with ones currently in development, such as Hawkeye, She-Hulk, and Ms. Marvel. Additionally, the possibility of an actual A-Force movie seems to be getting stronger by the day, with a recent update provided by MCU star, Letitia Wright.
The proprietary rights for Jessica Jones should be reverting back to Disney shortly, but it remains to be seen if the studio will bring her back in some form — and that also depends on whether or not Krysten Ritter will return to play her.
While we can speculate all day long about which new Marvel characters will be harvested for the next round of live-action projects, we do have some ideas about who could play some of our favorite superheroines. We’ve compiled a list of seven actresses who have proven their acting chops, on more than one occasion, who would fit into the MCU nicely. We’ve also paired them up with characters they could feasibly play, who have either previously been announced, or are anticipated to appear, in upcoming MCU projects.
Jamie Clayton
Where you know her from: Sense8, The L Word: Generation Q, and Roswell, New Mexico
With a background in modeling and makeup artistry, Jamie Clayton landed her first acting role as a recurring character in HBO’s Hung. However, her big break would come when the Wachowski siblings cast her as hacktivist Nomi Marks in the Netflix cult hit Sense8. Since then, she’s appeared as a supporting character in Showtime’s The L Word: Generation Q and The CW’s Roswell, New Mexico. As a woman of trans experience, Clayton is also an avid LGBTQ+ rights activist, winning accolades from Out magazine, as well as the Human Rights Campaign.
As news recently broke that both Olivia Wilde would be directing a female-centered Sony movie, which many suspect to be Spider-Woman, along with Sony’s announcement of a Madame Web project, Clayton would be perfect in the role of Julia Carpenter. Julia Carpenter, as Spider-Woman, was a member of the Avengers who later became Madame Web in the comic books, so either version of the character could appear. We do have a feeling that if Marvel and Sony team up on a Spider-Woman movie, it will be the Jessica Drew version, but that doesn’t mean Julia can’t be in it.
Additionally, Madame Web, who has psychic abilities, has proven a vital ally for Spider-Man time and again, so she may be introduced in the upcoming third Spider-Man film.