Superhero movies aren’t always the best at taking advantage of their star-studded casts, particularly when it comes to villains. From Heath Ledger’s Joker to Josh Brolin’s Thanos, many of the greatest superhero movie villains are backed by recognizable star power. Indeed, comic book movies in general tend to line their casts with recognizable names, combining audiences’ familiarity with their favorite performers with their love for a given property to rake in big returns.
However, these investments in famous names don’t always pay off. It’s tragically common for superhero movies to misuse, misdirect, or otherwise waste their chance with a great actor, whether it’s due to poor writing, minimal screentime, or a clear lack of effort on behalf of the nominated performer. This tends to be especially the case with villains, with movies from the films of the DCEU to the latest entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe all falling short of their casting potential.
10
Bill Skarsgård As Kro
Eternals (2021)
Bill Skarsgård is an incredible performer, known for his ability to blend in to a wide variety of vastly different characters. Though he saw moderate success in his acting career previously, his true big break came in the form of 2017’s It remake, in which he played Pennywise the dancing clown disturbingly well. Naturally, Skarsgård would seem to be the perfect fit for even the most bizarre comic book villain, resulting in his casting as the voice of Kro in 2021’s Eternals.
A rogue deviant that outlived the rest of his kind on Earth thanks to being trapped beneath a glacier for untold millennia, Kro is one of the most alien antagonists in the entire MCU. Skarsgård’s voice work is certainly impressive, but it wasn’t enough to save the creature from being one of the single most forgettable antagonists in the entire MCU, overshadowed even as the film’s main villain once the treachery of Ikaris. It’s safe to say that the MCU utterly wasted their opportunity with the performer behind one of the most iconic movie villains of the last ten years.
9
Christopher Eccleston As Malekith
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Christopher Eccelston in Thor: The Dark World is buried under so many layers of makeup, it’s hard to remember that the distinguished British actor is beneath it all. Best known for playing the ninth Doctor in the esteemed Doctor Who science fiction series, Eccleston got to tap into his villainous side as Malekith, the leader of the Dark Elves. No stranger to campy fantasy stories, Eccleston is able to give the fantastical villain something of a definitive edge.
Unfortunately, Eccleston’s performance is trapped in what many consider to be one of the worst MCU movies. Beyond that, his character is given little room to shine before being killed within the same movie of his introduction, making his overall impact on the grander story of the MCU incredibly negligible. Even if he did survive, Malekith had little personality beyond being a fairly bog-standard bad guy from an evil race, giving Eccleston little to work with.
8
Pilou Asbæk As Kordax
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023)
Jason Momoa wouldn’t be the only Game of Thrones alum to dip his toes in the water of the Aquaman franchise. Danish actor Pilou Asbæk joined the fray in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, playing the terrifying undead undersea ruler Kordax. No stranger to playing seafaring villains, Asbæk previously played the swaggering pirate lord Euron Greyjoy in Game of Thrones, making him a natural choice for the final film of the DCEU’s antagonist.
Sadly, the potential of Pilou Asbæk as Kordax was squandered by the film. Kordax himself is a very important Aquaman villain in the comics, yet in the films, much of his screentime is overruled by Black Manta. While Kordax is the one manipulating the revenge of the character and pulling the strings, he doesn’t get enough time in the spotlight to truly shine, being defeated shortly after revealing himself deep within the frozen-over caverns of the titular kingdom. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom bit off more than it could chew by juggling two villains, sidelining Asbæk’s acting ability.
7
Ryan Reynolds As Deadpool
X-Men: Origins: Wolverine (2009)
In the present age, Ryan Reynold’s performance as Wade Wilson is on track to become one of the greatest comic book casting decisions of all time, embodying the irreverent comedy of the fourth-wall-breaking ninja mercenary. It’s all too easy to forget that seven years before he could appear as Deadpool in earnest, Wade Wilson was both literally and figuratively disfigured by Fox studios in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Wilson’s first appearance in the film is fairly faithful to the comics, slicing through bullets with a smirk in the Weapon X program.
It isn’t until the film’s third act that the travesty of Ryan Reynold’s wasted potential as the character comes into light, turning into a mute amalgamation of mutant powers used as an obedient living weapon against Wolverine. The decision to cast Reynolds as the Merc with a Mouth only to literally sew his mouth shut will forever go down as one of the worst implementations of a comic book character ever conceived. Luckily, the current Deadpool film franchise has long since rectified this mistake.
6
Mads Mikkelsen As Kaecilius
Doctor Strange (2016)
Another Danish actor to be wasted in a superhero property, Mads Mikkelsen is no stranger to playing a villain. Mikkelsen was able to manifest a chilling interpretation of a young Hannibal Lecter in NBC’s Hannibal series, and brought James Bond himself to heel as the ghoulish supervillain Le Chiffre in Casino Royale. Casting Mikkelsen as an MCU antagonist was an obvious decision that somehow didn’t get the payoff it should have.
By all means, Middelsen doesn’t do a bad job as Kaecilius. He’s even able to inject a posh bit of dry humor into the otherwise blank slate of a character. The simple fact remains that Kaecilius had zero personality to begin with, being yet another samey Marvel villain that’s essentially just an evil version of the hero. Kaecilius being killed off before having the chance to grow into a larger threat for the MCU to face only served to further reduce the incredible performer’s legacy in the franchise.
5
Christian Bale As Gorr The God Butcher
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Being the star of the legendary superhero franchise, Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, Christian Bale is an actor well familiar with how to adapt a comic book character for the big screen. Not only that, but his chameleon-like ability to morph into the physiology of his characters, from the famished Reznik in The Machinist to the shredded Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, makes Bale one of the most versatile actors of the modern age. It took a long time, but Marvel Studios were finally able to get their hands on him for Thor: Love and Thunder.
Christian Bale does as best as he’s able to with the material provided in Thor: Love and Thunder, his performance easily being one of the best parts of the film. Yet despite being the primary antagonist, Bale is given shockingly little screnetime in the film as a whole, with Thor spending much of the movie preoccupied with wrestling Greek gods and his own feelings of insecurity. In the final edit of the film, Bale is only able to hint at the depth he had managed to develop with the character, making the famous actor’s inclusion a bitter missed opportunity.
4
Danny DeVito As The Penguin
Batman Returns (1992)
Danny DeVito is a beloved character actor whose roles span from the smarmy to lovable. By the time of Tim Burton’s Batman Returns, DeVito had made a name for himself in films like One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Terms of Endearment, Twins, and The War of the Roses. Demonstrating an ability to nail an incredible variety of characters and tones, from meditative dramas to comedic romps, DeVito’s inclusion in the second film in the original Batman quadrilogy was an exciting prospect back in the early 90s.
Tim Burton’s ideas for the Penguin made an utter waste of DeVito’s experience as a determined actor, instead making a joke of his physicality by morphing the character into a sniveling sewer monster. DeVito was the perfect opportunity to create a high-profile mobster-turned-socialite more in-line with the character’s comic origins. It’s a shame Burton was more interested in burying DeVito in goblin-like prosthetics and forcing him to eat raw fish.
3
Jeff Bridges As Iron Monger
Iron Man (2008)
Able to embody roles ranging from the lackadaisical Dude from The Big Lebowski to the adrenaline-fueled Lightfoot in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Jeff Bridges is a natural performer. While Marvel Studios gambled on Robert Downey Jr. to kickstart the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they opted to use the reliable reputation of Jeff Bridges’ acting chops for the film’s villain. Despite being the very first antagonist in the MCU, Bridges’ Obadiah Stane has utterly faded into irrelevance.
Stane begins the film as the bitter former partner of Tony Stark’s late father, Howard Star, resentful over his son’s inheritance of Stark Industries despite his flippant attitude. Eventually, Stane morphed into the Iron Monger, losing all sensibility in order to fuel the film’s need for a giant armored suit fight scene. These days, beyond being the first MCU villain that’s just an evil version of the hero, Bridges’ performance is best known for yelling at his scientists, being given little more than a box of scraps by director Jon Favreau to develop the character.
2
Paul Giamatti As The Rhino
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Making the same mistake as the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy years earlier, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 had entirely too many villains. Not only did the dense narrative have to juggle Harry Osborn’s Green Goblin and Electro, but the origins of the minor super-criminal The Rhino was squeezed into the action. Using Paul Giamatti of all people for the role remains one of the strangest comic book casting decisions ever made.
Known for character-driven dramedies like Sideways, Cinderella Man, and Win Win, Giamatti isn’t particularly well-suited for the role of a hardened Russian mobster. Still, the character actor clearly has fun chewing scenery in the ridiculous Rhino mech, even if it was to the detriment of the film’s overall quality. If Giamatti was set on entering the cast of a Spider-Man movie, there were certainly other characters he could’ve been better used for.
1
Arnold Schwarzenegger As Mr. Freeze
Batman & Robin (1997)
Already famous for playing one of the most famous movie villains of all time in the Terminator franchise, Arnold Schwarzenegger was an incredibly hot asset for the cast of a superhero movie in the late 90s. With an undeniable, proven charisma and some of the biggest muscles in Hollywood, there were a number of Batman villains that Arnold could’ve brought to life in a big way. Yet rather than Bane, who Schwarzenegger would’ve been a shoo-in for, Joel Schumacher opted to use the 80s action icon for Mr. Freeze.
Even though the character is best known for being a nebbish cryogenic scientist, Arnold was directed to turn Mr. Freeze into a pun-dispensing cybernetic neon nightmare with a strange penchant for Rankins-Bass Christmas specials. Freeze was ultimately a victim of the cartoonish tone of Batman & Robin, ironically more juvenile than Mr. Freeze’s popularization in Batman: The Animated Series. Fumbling Arnold Schwarzenegger’s potential in a Batman film will forever be one of the greatest missed opportunities in a superhero movie.
