Giancarlo Esposito almost played King Cobra in ‘Brave New World,’ and fans aren’t letting Marvel slide: "What a missed opportunity lol!"

Giancarlo Esposito, aka Gus Fring from Breaking Bad, has revealed that he was set to portray King Cobra in the film Captain America: Brave New World. He was reportedly in discussions with Marvel producer Nate Moore about taking on the role of Klaus Voorhees.

Speaking to Empire, Esposito stated:

"It was supposed to come out in March of 2024, and they decided they wanted to make some changes... They call me King, baby! I mean, that's the highest honor. But as it turned out, there [are other Kings] in the Marvel world, and this was connected to the Serpent Society.

"...they were going back to the comics and trying to figure it out, and Nate said, 'We can give you all the characteristics of King, but we think he should be Sidewinder.'"

"...They wanted to ground the movie when they went back in to do some additional shooting, and their focus now was on this additional character".

"So it was a bit of a whirlwind for me. I focused myself and I went in there and knocked it out. And I'm hoping to be in this universe a little longer."

Marvel somehow always manages to be at the center of roasts online. This time, people had conflicting opinions about Giancarlo Esposito's casting as Sidewinder, with most people thinking that he would have made a better King Cobra.

Naturally, it didn't take long for the jokes to begin rolling in.

Some fans took this as just another reason to troll Marvel, deeming it a missed opportunity. Others were not even concentrating on the casting—they were too busy doubting Marvel's future, considering its recent run of disappointing projects.

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Social media reacts to Giancarlo Esposito's casting as King Cobra

There were some who were actually annoyed, claiming that Giancarlo Esposito could have been given a far better role and that Marvel consistently gets it wrong when it casts the best actors in the best parts.

One user, @resmihesabim mentioned:

"What a missed opportunity lol! Why the change?"

A user @YngJackieAprile stated:

"He deserved so much better, man…"

Fans roasted Marvel, accusing them of squandering a fantastic character for nothing. Some made jokes about the studio having a knack for taking everything good and turning it into the worst rendition of itself.

A user @RealCyberkitten mentioned:

"Whatever the case was, he ended up being one of the most wasted actors in the MCU. You get Giancarlo f*****g Esposito, and you cast him as Generic Goon 452..."

One user, @dhruvlathia2, stated:

"They almost remove every damn good idea and make the movie."

A user @jakesnerdverse went on to say:

"So they bring Giancarlo in to replace Seth Rollins (credit where credits due, great move) and then they just scrap the character and give him Sidewinder? No wonder his side of the story was so undercooked…"

In the meantime, one user, likely scratching their head in astonishment, asked how they continue to mess things up.

A user @MikeBear013 virtually shouted:

"THEY CAN'T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS!!!! STOP DISRESPECTING THE SERPENT SOCIETY!!!"

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What role did Giancarlo Esposito play in Captain America: Brave New World?

Giancarlo Esposito portrays Seth Voelker, or Sidewinder, in Captain America: Brave New World. Sidewinder is portrayed as the commander of the Serpent team, a watered-down take on the Serpent Society of Marvel Comics.

Being a mercenary commander with criminal affiliations, Sidewinder is a serious challenge for Sam Wilson.

Also read: Marvel calls ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ a "new beginning" for the MCU — fans sarcastically say it definitely needs one