The many films based on the films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and beyond, movies under the Marvel banner at their best when they're centering on a phenomenal casting choice, such as Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man or Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. But for every iconic hero that takes the stage, there's a poor casting decision that's quickly forgotten.

There are several things that go into a poor casting choice that can really drag down the quality of a given Marvel film. Sometimes, the typical personality of a given actor's characters will clash with the comic book role they're asked to inherit, whereas in other instances, clear creative differences or bland character choices are to blame for a fumbled casting opportunity. Many of the worst Marvel movies ever can trace much of their blame back to a singular poor casting decision that went on to have dire consequences.

10 Aaron Taylor-Johnson As Quicksilver

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Compared to the other Avengers movies, Avengers: Age of Ultron is widely considered to be the weakest of the four. Containing awkward dialogue, an underdeveloped villain, and a painful attempt at romance, the movie was a failure on many fronts. While the film marked the first appearance of Wanda Maximioff, who went on to become an important and critically-lauded character in the franchise, her brother doesn't have as favorable of a legacy.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Quicksilver isn't given all that much to do before he's unceremoniously killed, having the shallowest of arcs as he learns to care about fellow heroes like Hawkeye. Taylor-Johnson turns in a relatively bland performance as the speedster, whose cringeworthy Eastern European accent doesn't have anything interesting to say. The final product is certainly not a terrible character, but one that can't help but feel like something of a waste.

9 Liv Tyler As Betty Ross

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

The Incredible Hulk sits at an awkward spot in Marvel Cinematic Universe canon. Though the events of the film technically did still happen in the MCU main timeline, the few major characters that did return to the series have all gotten recast, with Mark Ruffalo replacing Edward Norton as The Hulk in The Avengers.

While Norton's performance might be a tad at-odds with the universe, it's mostly a charming depiction of Bruce Banner as an edgy loner with a heart of gold looking to heal his inner child. The same can't be said for Liv Tyler's Betty Ross, who should be a much more important character for the Hulk mythos than she wound up being in the grand scheme of the MCU.

Much of this can be attributed to Tyler's sleepwalk of a performance, which fails to sell any of the terror or tension a solo Hulk movie should imply. More forgettable than outright bad, it's no wonder Liv Tyler didn't return to the MCU for any future installments.

8 Kathryn Newton As Cassie Lang

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

One of the MCU's biggest financial flops ever, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has a lot going against it. From the fake-looking CGI environments to the lame sense of humor to Kang's utter lack of urgency as a supposedly Thanos-level threat, so much about what the movie sets out to do fails.

Counted among this list of shortcomings is the recasting of Cassie Lang, who s her father for the first time in superhero antics with a trip to the Quantum Realm. The decision to recast Cassie Lang for Avengers: Endgame made sense, as the five-year timeskip Scott found himself in following The Blip left his daughter a young teenager.

But after Avengers: Endgame had already produced a perfectly serviceable actress for the older Cassie in Emma Fuhrmann, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania felt the need for Kathryn Newton's relative star-power to be more important than continuity. Ironically, Netwon has quite poor chemistry with Paul Rudd, out-acted by her predecessor in only two scenes.

7 Jude Law As Yon-Rogg

Captain Marvel (2019)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has routinely had a problem with crafting memorable villains, with some of the most wasted potential in the series stemming from its antagonistic choices. To sell audiences on Captain Marvel in between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the heroine's own self-titled movie needed a captivating force for evil to root against. Sadly, what audiences got instead was Jude Law's Yon-Rogg.

Due to his very presence, Jude Law instantly made the Kree warlord into one of the most obvious twist villains ever put to screen. Law's persnickety performance and typical character choices made no secret of Yon-Rogg's nefarious intentions long before they were actually revealed, making what should have been a shocking twist into one of the least surprising plot developments in the entire franchise. Yon-Rogg needed someone with more charisma as a hero to make his betrayal sting worse, such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 did with Kurt Russell.

6 William Jackson Harper As Quaz

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

It says a lot that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania has not one, but two of the biggest casting fumbles in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. William Jackson Harper was coming hot off the success of The Good Place, having enraptured audiences as the neurotic ethics professor Chidi Adagonye.

He was also a memorable presence in Ari Aster's hit horror film Midsommar, demonstrating his range as a character actor. This made it all the more disappointing when it was revealed that Harper only shows up briefly in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania as Quaz, a stuck-up telepath living in the Quantum Realm.

Quaz himself makes for a poor showing of William Jackson Harper's acting skills, having none of the depth or tenderness of his other characters.

His status as a micro-citizen makes it unlikely for Harper to ever return to the MCU, totally wasting his presence in the series. Not only that, but Quaz himself makes for a poor showing of William Jackson Harper's acting skills, having none of the depth or tenderness of his other characters.

5 Olga Kurylenko As Taskmaster

Black Widow (2021)

Going into Black Widow, Taskmaster was one of the coolest Marvel villains the MCU had yet to tackle, a shrewd mercenary with the uncanny ability to unerringly copy the movements of anyone he sees, including superheroes. Anticipation was eager for Taskmaster's inclusion as the central villain of Black Widow, despite the fact that the film opted to gender-swap the character with Olga Kurylenko to star.

Sadly, along with the gender-swap came a total loss of Taskmaster's sassy personality from the comics. While Taskmaster's wisecracks and confidence are a key part of his original appeal, the female MCU version was re-written to be a victim of the same Soviet program that produced Black Widow herself.

In doing so, Olga Kurylenko utterly loses any semblance of Taskmaster's comic personality, or any personality at all, for that matter, playing the character as a boring brainwashed robot. It's hard to say Olga Kurylenko is at fault for this misfire of a casting choice, but considering her lack of presence in the trailers for Thunderbolts*, her days in the MCU may be numbered.

4 Jared Leto As Morbius

Morbius (2022)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is far from the only theatrical franchise carrying the red Marvel logo that frequently fails to impress with its casting decisions. Jared Leto had already faced the music as one of the most controversial superhero movie castings in history as an awkward take on The Joker in Suicide Squad.

His next comic book appearance in Sony's Morbius wouldn't fare much better, demonstrably proving that Leto perhaps isn't well-suited to superhero franchises. Despite his method acting efforts that demanded he act as though he suffered from a mobility impairment on-set to better commune with the mind of Dr. Michael Morbius, Jared Leto makes no sense as the vampire anti-hero.

His overall demeanor is far too serious for the campy world of Sony's Spider-Man villain universe, clashing with the inherent corniness of the genre in an unbearable disaster. Despite what the many Morbius memes might imply, Leto's time as Morbius isn't even fun to watch in an ironic capacity.

3 Topher Grace As Venom

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Morbius was far from Sony's first time fumbling the casting of a Spider-Man villain, with the conclusion of Sam Raimi's original trilogy featuring one of the worst superhero antagonist performances ever. Highly anticipated as one of Spider-Man's most popular villains, audiences were primed for a terrifying take on Venom and Eddie Brock that shook Peter Parker to his emotional core.

Instead, what they received was a campy, ineffectual villain that didn't earn Venom's tarantula logo. Going into Spider-Man 3, many were concerned that Topher Grace's legacy of being a comedic character on That '70s Show made him a poor fit for the tortured Eddie Brock.

These fears ended up being justified as Grace's final version of the character comes off as anything but threatening, being by far the weakest of the three villains to be stuffed into the crowded climax of Spider-Man 3. Compared to Tom Hardy's later take on the same character, the difference in quality is night and day.

2 Christopher Eccleston as Malekith

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Thor: The Dark World isn't only considered to be the worst movie of the Thor quadrilogy, but one of the weakest Marvel Cinematic Universe movies in general. This is thanks in no small part to Christopher Eccleston's Malekith, a Dark Elf with delusions of taking over control of the Nine Realms from Asgard.

Malekith is such a knowingly weak Marvel villain that his name is later used as a punchline in Avengers: Endgame, with Eccleston's phoned-in performance being largely to blame. Eccleston is one of the few actors who openly it animosity towards the MCU, acknowledging that his time spent in Malekith's elaborate and stifling makeup was only a quick paycheck for him.

His disdain for the project certainly shines forth in his performance, which makes no attempt to emote past the bare minimum standards for a stock fantasy villain. Even if he wasn't a fan of the film, Eccleston's professionalism as an actor is challenged by the animosity that shines through in his time as Malekith in Thor: The Dark World.

1 Mickey Rourke as Whiplash

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Some Marvel casting opportunities are bad because they're a waste of potential, while others are simply terrible for the resulting performance alone. Mickey Rourke as Whiplash in Iron Man 2 is a rare instance of a case that somehow manages to be both, with the action movie star turning in a painfully dull villain that had the opportunity to be so much more.

For so many reasons, Whiplash is the ultimate example of missed potential and dreadful execution when it comes to the casting of Marvel characters.

Allegedly, Rourke was actually quite excited to enter Iron Man 2 as the main antagonist, even spending time in a Russian prison to hone the experiences of Anton Venko. Sadly, Rourke claimed that studio interference nixed his ideas for the vengeful copycat inventor, and by the time Whiplash appears on-screen, all the wind had clearly been taken out of his sails.

Beyond his tired, barely awake final performance, Mickey Rourke's time in a Russian prison certainly didn't improve his Russian accent, which is ear-gratingly awful. For so many reasons, Whiplash is the ultimate example of missed potential and dreadful execution when it comes to the casting of Marvel characters.

MCU Movies

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  Captain America: Brave New World

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  Thunderbolts*

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

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  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

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  Spider-Man: Brand New Day

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

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