Paul Mescal has continuously stolen the world’s heart since his role in the Sally Rooney book-turned-series Normal People in 2020. Proof of his rise and continued popularity is evident with his role in the 2024 movie schedule equivalent of “Barbenheimer”--”Wickediator,” (he weighed in on the event and thinks you should go see both). From here, anything is possible for Mescal, but one thing is for sure, the rumors of him joining the MCU universe anytime soon is out. The actor shared that he’d much rather join ranks with J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings over any superhero world, and I’m whole heartedly with him.
The 28-year-old actor joined Josh Horowitz for his podcast, Happy Sad Confused, and was asked about the rumors of him possibly joining his Gladiator II costars Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn for the 2025 Fantastic Four franchise. The All of Us Strangers star confirmed that he was never in conversation about the Marvel classic.
Horowitz then probed about his interest in the idea of joining any future superhero project someday. Mescal responds by explaining that since he didn’t grow up with comic book hero movies, it didn’t appeal to him as much as another franchise does. He shared:
I don’t think it’s for me. It’s not for me. It’s–I think if I wasn’t brought up watching those films, I wasn’t drawn to them [in the like]. I was kind of more like a Lord of The Rings guy, in that sense, [like I]. So they weren’t films that I was, I was drawn to.
It makes sense that someone who grew up outside of the States is less compelled by the superhero universes. On the flipside of his statement, I can completely see little Mescal obsessed with LOTR in the same way comic book fans are... and I love it. Between the two options, I’m with him and I’d pick Tolkien’s world every time and maybe just check out the best superhero movies and call it a day. It's good to hear there are people in Hollywood repping for the Hobbits and company!
The podcaster then went on to ask if he’d like to be a Hobbit, and the Aftersun alum had this to say:
Yes. Please put me in the game coach.
I think he’d make a magnificent addition anywhere within the fantasy franchise. It may be too late for the upcoming Lord of the Rings: War of Rohirrim, which has a December 13th release date but never say never for Season 3 of Rings of Power. That’s an incredibly hopeful guess but I’m sure he will be able to find a way into the lore. The Gladiator sequel and The History of Sound possibly premiering during our 2025 movie schedule will be enough for now.
I, and probably many others, would love to see Mescal in anything he pursues. He has plenty of projects going on currently and will only continue to do so. I hope that this interview helped put out into the world that the ever-rising star is, in fact, a Lord of the Rings guy and would love to be a Hobbit or anything in the literary epic world.
