No one could ever take the late Stan Lee’s place, not just for his enduring influence on the comic book medium, but as the Marvel movies’ all-time king of cameos. However, in more recent years, Matt Damon has been making a pretty good case for himself as a worthy successor.
Seeing the actor play a highly exaggerated dramatization of Loki in Thor: Ragnarok was an astonishing sight that helped familiarize audiences with the sequel’s refreshingly self-aware, satirical tone. Even more mind-blowing was discovering that the Academy Award-winner, opposite an almost equally unrecognizable Alan Tudyk, was one of the two toilet paper-obsessed rednecks interrupted by Cable’s (Josh Brolin) present-day arrival in Deadpool 2. Of course, given Matt Damon’s reputation for obscure appearances and killer sense of humor, as evident by his ongoing “feud” with Jimmy Kimmel, these comic book movie cameos are not that much of a surprise in retrospect.
What is surprising is that this certified action star has yet to play the lead, or even a pivotal supporting character, in a comic book movie. I could understand if Matt Damon would rather steer clear of the DC Universe out of respect for his best friend, a veteran Batman actor, but there are still plenty of unclaimed roles in the MCU which two otherwise memorable cameos should not ruin his chances to land. Six characters he could breath life into most impressively come to mind.
Daredevil
Speaking of Ben Affleck, while I am not, personally, one to cast blame on the actor for the widely underwhelming reception to 2003's Daredevil, you have to admit that it is fascinating to wonder how things might have been if his buddy Matt Damon had not passed on the role first. I almost want to see his take on Matt Murdock, a blind attorney who uses his other five superhuman senses to wipe out the worst in Hell's Kitchen by night, more than I would love to see Charlie Cox reprise his lead role in the short-lived, but much-loved Netflix series, for the big screen.
Besides, Damon already played a lawyer once in Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of John Grisham's The Rainmaker, so why not thrown in some hand-to-combat that we already know he is well capable of.
Shortpack
You know, you could actually cite that same sort of logic to justify why Matt Damon would be a great choice to play Shortpack, a mutant with an involuntary ability to shrink who was was saved from going microscopic by Professor Charles Xavier, whose teachings allow him to stay at 8" tall. Unfortunately, he is unable to make himself grow any larger than that, but uses his pint sized stature to his advantage as one of the stealthiest secret agents in the Marvel universe. So, in other words, imagine if Damon's miniaturized character from the 2017 satire Downsizing and Jason Bourne were the same person.
Mister Fantastic
On the more likely chance that Matt Damon is a just a little burnt out on playing vengeful government agents and/or miniaturized human beings, perhaps he would like to play a brilliant scientist who can extend his body to almost infinite lengths. Considering the chances of another Fantastic Four reboot are higher than ever following Disney's acquisition of Fox and all its Marvel properties, the odds of Kevin Feige calling his Thor: Ragnarok star up to play the superhero family's leader, Mister Fantastic, are not too bad either. Hopefully, his friend and Promised Land co-star John Krasinski, currently a top choice for Reed Richards among fans, would not take it too personally if Damon won the role over him.
Adam Warlock
The future of this beloved comsic character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been totally up the air since one of the five mid-credits scenes in 2017's Guardians of the Galaxy teased his arrival. Many fans took that as a sign that Adam Warlock might be the one to take charge against Thanos (Josh Brolin) in Avengers: Infinity War or Avengers: Endgame, neither of which happened despite his crucial contribution to the source material. At this point, I would not be surprised if we never see the golden boy get his big cinematic moment, or at least, when he does, his identity will not be revealed until far later into the story when he requires help from the lead, which is yet another thing that Matt Damon has gained strong reputation for in Hollywood.
Major Victory
Speaking of missions to rescue Matt Damon, specifically in 2014's Interstellar and The Martian the following year, I think it is about time that he gets to be the astronaut who does some saving. Such is the case for Vance Astro (née Astrovik), a psychokinetic space traveler who led the original iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy in 1969 and was even an honorary Avenger for his heroic achievements that help him earn the name Major Victory. Much of his victories, however, should be credited to his Adamantium-laced, symbiotic suit that keeps him from aging, which is some that Damon most definitely could have used on Mars, come to think of it.
Nova
Unfortunately, the odds of Major Victory showing up in a future chapter of the Marvel Cinematic are, to quote James Gunn, "not great." Yet, the filmmaker has not ruled out the chance for Richard Rider, the sole surviving officer of the Nova Corps who travels the furthest reaches of space as cosmic crimefighter, to make a future appearance. It would not even have to be in a Guardians of the Galaxy sequel since, as far as I am concerned, both Matt Damon and Nova alike have already earned the chance to lead one of these films singlehandedly, so casting him in the role of this one-man guardian of the Galaxy would be killing two birds with one stone.
What do you think? Do any of these characters sound like they are destined to lay the groundwork for Matt Damon’s big Marvel moment, or would he actually be a better fit for DC after all? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check back for additional information and updates on the charitable actor, writer, and producer, as well as even more hypothetical comic book movie casting calls, here on CinemaBlend.
