10 actors who played multiple roles in Marvel movies 

Marvel's rich film history goes way beyond the MCU, with different studios, franchises, and adaptations over many years. Most actors are fortunate enough to get a single big part in a Marvel film, but a few lucky ones have portrayed several characters throughout various films and universes.

Some actors had a second shot after their initial Marvel part was a failure (Michael B. Jordan, Chris Evans), whereas others played heroes and villains in entirely different plots (Josh Brolin, Oscar Isaac). While actors such as Gemma Chan were able to cameo twice within the MCU itself—a feat not usually achieved given Marvel's continuity strictness.

With the advent of the multiverse, Marvel has even greater chances to revisit these actors in unexpected ways. Consider Chris Evans' Human Torch encountering Captain America, or Josh Brolin's Cable going up against Thanos. With Marvel expanding, some of these actors may not be finished yet.

Here's a glance at 10 actors who played more than one role in Marvel movies beyond the MCU.

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1. Chris Evans

Prior to being the MCU's poster boy as Captain America, Chris Evans played Johnny Storm, also known as the Human Torch, in Fantastic Four (2005) and its sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007). His portrayal of Storm was among the few good things about the otherwise disappointing movies. Years after, Evans dawdled before taking on the role of Steve Rogers for fear that another superhero role would pigeonhole his career. Ironically, it made him a household name. Though he played Cap for almost a decade, he has been willing to bring back Johnny Storm in a multiverse scenario if Marvel ever asks him back.

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2. Josh Brolin

Josh Brolin portrayed two of Marvel's most fearsome characters: Thanos, the villain who wiped out half the universe in Avengers: Infinity War (2018); and Cable, the time-hopping cyborg in Deadpool 2 (2018). Many actors have played different Marvel roles across the decades. Josh Brolin did both roles in one year; in one instance, he commented on how peculiar it was to portray Thanos in a computer-generated suit while playing the practical and tangible Cable at the same time. With Thanos behind him, Brolin indicated that he very much would like to reprise the Cable role, especially since Deadpool is officially joining the MCU.

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3. Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Reynolds was quite occupied counting the now hundred-thousand ways one can die in Deadpool (2016), having meanwhile portrayed vampire slayer Hannibal King, a wisecracking and infuriating man of few but well-placed words, in Blade: Trinity (2004). Although this film was widely seen as a critical mess, one thing was clear: Reynolds possessed the comedic timing and the action chops to play Deadpool. Interestingly, Deadpool 3 will now bring him across the sill and into the MCU, making him one of a handful of actors to cross over from Fox's X-Men universe to the main Marvel timeline.

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4. Oscar Isaac

Oscar Isaac has taken up two distinctly different Marvel characters: the ancient mutant villain Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) and the tortured multiple-personality vigilante Moon Knight in the MCU. Apocalypse was, of course, heavily beset by poor CGI and script writing; however, Moon Knight (2022) gives Isaac another chance at perhaps a more enhanced expression of himself with a far more multifaceted role. He had three very diverse scores, thus demonstrating his versatility as an actor. Isaac himself admitted he found Apocalypse frustrating due to all those prosthetics, but he is all in for Moon Knight's future, hinting that his character has even more ties to the MCU that are not yet revealed.

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5. Michael B. Jordan

Michael B. Jordan's debut as a Marvel character, Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four (2015), turned tragic, as the movie was among one of the worst-reviewed superhero films in history. He was more fortunate in being offered a second chance in Black Panther (2018) as Erik Killmonger, one of the most layered Marvel villains to date. In a surprising twist, Jordan reprised the role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) during Shuri's vision in the ancestral plane, leaving the possibility that perhaps his character isn't entirely dead after all.

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6. Mahershala Ali

Prior to being cast in the leading role in Marvel's new Blade reboot, Mahershala Ali was Cornell "Cottonmouth" Stokes on Netflix's Luke Cage (2016). So good was his performance as charismatic Harlem gangster Stokes that there are reports fans lost interest in the show following his character's untimely demise. With a deep, authoritative voice and gravity of presence, Ali was well suited to be cast as Blade, and even approached the studios personally to bid for the part.

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7. Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch didn't merely act Doctor Strange in Doctor Strange (2016) and onward—he also voiced and motion-captured Dormammu, the movie's primary antagonist. Director Scott Derrickson affirmed that casting Cumberbatch for both made it have a Shakespearean feel, with Strange's fight against Dormammu being akin to a distorted inner struggle. Interestingly, Cumberbatch improvised the now-iconic “I’ve come to bargain” time loop scene, which became one of the MCU’s cleverest moments. With Avengers: Secret Wars on the horizon, many speculate Dormammu could return, possibly in a much larger role than just a manipulated cosmic entity.

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8. Gemma Chan

It's rarely the case when Marvel uses actors repeatedly within the same universe. Still, it succeeded in that task by having Gemma Chan reprise the role of a blue-skinned Kree warrior, Minn-Erva, in the minor role in Captain Marvel (2019) but went ahead to give her a leading role in Eternals (2021) as Sersi. Despite Eternals getting mixed reviews, Chan’s performance was well-received, and Kevin Feige has confirmed Sersi’s story is far from over. Interestingly, Chan also voiced a character in What If.?, making her one of the few Marvel actors to appear in live-action and animated projects.

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9. Evan Peters

Evan Peters as Peter Maximoff (Quicksilver) in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) won over the hearts of fans immediately with his signature slow-motion rescue scenes. Fans expected Marvel to bring Fox's X-Men into the MCU when he featured in WandaVision (2021). However, the twist that he was supposed to be a mere guy named Ralph Bohner disillusioned fans. Peters has since owned up to knowing nothing about the twist when he came on board, believing that he was again playing Quicksilver.

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10. Aaron Taylor-Johnson

Aaron Taylor-Johnson originally portrayed Pietro Maximoff (Quicksilver) in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), only to have his character get killed off just about immediately. He made a surprising return to star as Kraven the Hunter in Sony's Kraven film (2024). Unlike super-speedy Quicksilver, Kraven is a deadly hunter with heightened senses. Taylor-Johnson had intense physical training for the role and even shot real animal stunts. Rumors are that Sony may attempt to tie Kraven to Venom and Morbius, so Taylor-Johnson may be in charge of Sony's take on the Sinister Six sometime in the future.