From her long-running stint in the One Tree Hill cast as Brooke Davis Baker, to her shorter, but equally beloved, tenure with the Chicago P.D. cast as Detective Erin Lindsay, and plenty of other notable roles in recent years, I think it is safe to call Sophia Bush a bonafide TV superstar at this point. However - despite how honorable that position may be, especially these days - I believe that an actress of her talent was made for the big screen.
More specifically, I believe Sophia Bush deserves a role in blockbusters like the Marvel movies and, if and when that moment were to arrive, I have a few ideas. The following are six Marvel characters the co-host of the Drama Queens podcast might be the ideal candidate to play, such as one who has a few skills in common with her most recent role.
Linda Carter
Several years after leaving the Chicago P.D. cast, Sophia Bush has returned to network television as the title character of the CBS medical drama Good Sam. Speaking of, there are plenty of well-known medical professionals from Marvel Comics (like Doctor Strange, as played by Benedict Cumberbatch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe), but some that do not get as much mainstream attention, such as Linda Carter.
Not to be confused with TV’s original Wonder Woman actress (who spells her name with a “Y”), this nurse tends to specialize in caring for superheroes in need of medical attention, as first seen in Marvel’s limited series Night Nurse in the early 1970s. Fellow Night Nurse character Christine Palmer has had her time in the MCU spotlight (as played by Rachel McAdams in Doctor Strange), and Daredevil cast member Rosario Dawson’s character, Claire Temple, borrows a few elements from the comic, but Linda has not had her moment yet. Giving the role to Sophia Bush, who now has experience playing a doctor, would make up for the delay.
Victoria Montesi
Another doctor who would actually fit right into a future Doctor Strange movie is Victoria Montesi. Her pursuit of a career in medicine was partially to spite her adoptive father, Vittorio Montesi, who is the sworn protector of a black magic codex called the Darkhold by the Elder God, Chthon, whom Victoria eventually discovers to be her real father.
Outside of her acclaimed work in television, Sophia Bush has starred in a number of notable horror movies, such as the 2006 video game thriller Stay Alive, the 2007 remake of The Hitcher with Sean Bean, and the A24-produced Hulu original, False Positive, in 2021. Casting the actress in the role of this hellspawn would lead to one wicked one-two punch that sees her both join the MCU and continue her modest reputation as a scream queen in the same move.
Tigra
Speaking of one-two punches, outside of her acclaimed acting career, Sophia Bush also has some experience working as a model for the likes of MasterCard, Chevy, and various other brands. Modeling was also the early profession of Marvel character Greer Nelson, who went on to work as a lab assistant before a bizarre incident led her to take up another career title: Avenger.
The life-changing moment that led to her superheroism was a near-death experience, from which she was saved by a secret population of feline-esque people who resurrected Nelson as a half-woman, half-jungle cat who fights evil under the name Tigra. I do not know about you, but I think human-animal hybrid characters like this would be a fun thing to see more often in the MCU, and the physical alterations that would be required to get Sophia Bush into character might be a fun and unique experience for her.
Outlaw
Sophia Bush’s first experience acting on camera was in the raunchy 2002 comedy National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, as a college student named Sally who offers comfort to the titular party animal after a heartbreak with Gwen (Tara Reid). A fun way that the actress could reunite with the cult comedy’s star, Ryan Reynolds, would be to team up with him in a future Deadpool sequel as one of the anti-hero’s most underrated allies (and unlikely occasional lovers).
Inez Temple works as a mercenary under the name Outlaw - presumably to represent her Texas roots along with her signature cowgirl attire, which seems a little modest for someone in her line of work. That is, until you realize that, in addition to her expert marksmanship and combat skills, a genetic mutation equipped her with superhuman strength, durability, and an advanced healing factor that makes her a perfect match for the Merc with a Mouth (if he wasn’t so hard to get along with). If not in the eventual Deadpool 3, maybe they could reignite the scrapped X-Force spin-off movie and squeeze Sophia Bush in as Outlaw?
Urd
One of Sophia Bush’s first experiences acting for television was an episode of the original Sabrina the Teenage Witch in which the enchanted title character (Melissa Joan Hart) is visited by the goddesses of Fate. Along with Christina Vidal and Jennifer Hall as her sisters, Sophia Bush played one of the three mythological entities, who have actually been adapted for Marvel Comics, in which they are also referred to as the Norn Sisters.
With themes of destiny and the natural order of the universe (or, more accurately, the Marvel Multiverse) becoming much more prevalent in the MCU lately, it would come as no surprise to me if we see the Fates appear in a future installment, such as in a Thor sequel or Loki Season 2, even. If and when that happens, I think it would be really funny if Sophia Bush were asked to reprise her role from that Sabrina episode in its more traditional iteration. It is never really specified which Norn sister she played then, but I think a good fit would be Urd, who is gifted with knowing the history of others.
Lila Cheney
You know, if Sophia Bush were to join the MCU, it would actually not be her first experience acting in superhero movies. In 2018, she lent her voice to Incredibles 2 in the role of Voyd - an aspiring crimefighter with the power to teleport. Well, if ain’t broke…
One of the most powerful teleporters from Marvel Comics is Lila Cheney, who was actually a member of a whole team of people like her that acted as a subsidiary of S.W.O.R.D. - an off-world organization that fans became acquainted with on WandaVision that will likely play a large role on Secret Invasion. In other words, if Sophia Bush were given the opportunity to play Lila, her chance could come particularly soon and in the form of one of the most anticipated upcoming Marvel TV shows on Disney+.
On second thought, Sophia Bush does not seem like the kind of actress who would ever want to repeat herself, which is essentially what she would be doing if cast as any of these Marvel characters. Perhaps she could find a new challenge she might be looking for in a comic book role with a part in the DC movies?
