With only a week to go until Avengers: Infinity War finally hits theaters, Marvel has done an impressive job of keeping things under wraps for the film. In a world where it's increasingly difficult to avoid spoilers, even before a film is released, the hype surrounding this massive ensemble movie is still largely speculation - and fans are just going to have to wait and see which of the dozens of theories surrounding Infinity War turn out to be accurate.One of the biggest question marks still hanging over Infinity War is, of course, the role of the inimitable Peter Dinklage. The star of Game of Thrones has been confirmed to be a part of the movie, and now the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a whole, for some time... but how, exactly, he plays into Infinity War is a closely guarded secret. However, a new clip from Infinity War has fans wondering if Dinklage's part is going to be very different than originally expected, and not a little disappointing.Related: Infinity War Clip May Finally Reveal Dinklage's RoleThe latest clip was revealed during an interview with Anthony Mackie (who plays Falcon in the MCU), and shows Black Widow, Captain America, and Falcon battling two members of The Black Order (aka The Children of Thanos). Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive are the two fighting our heroes, and at the end of the short clip, each of them has a single line - and between the sound of his voice and the fact that the actor playing Corvus has yet to be announced, many fans believe that Dinklage will be voicing Corvus in Infinity War.
- This Page: The Rumors About Peter Dinklage's Infinity War Role
Dinklage Was First Linked To Avengers 3 Over A Year Ago
Dinklage was first linked to the MCU and Avengers: Infinity War back in January 2017, when it was reported that the star was in talks to join the franchise. Details of the role were (obviously) not given at the time, but it was initially described as 'key'. Although the initial reports of the casting came over a year ago, Marvel Studios didn't actually officially confirm his involvement until March of this year, when the actor's name appeared on the poster for the film. However, the comic book juggernaut has remained tight-lipped about who Dinklage would be playing. Dinklage is also one of the few actors not already in the MCU to be joining the production - unsurprising, given the sheer number of existing MCU actors being crammed into this one, epic film.
Rumors Gave Dinklage A Big Role
Of course, the lack of official word from Marvel on Dinklage's role hasn't stopped fans from speculating about who the actor will appear as - and there are plenty of theories to go around. Multiple characters from the Marvel Universe have been suggested, for reasons ranging from Dinklage's latest hair color, to comments made years ago, to leaked details and rumors. While people have been guessing that Dinklage could appear as anyone from Adam Warlock (who was teased in both Guardians of the Galaxy and Thor: The Dark World) to Uatu The Watcher (now that Disney has the rights, having acquired Fox) to J. Jonah Jameson. However, there are three theories that stand out as the most likely.
The least plausible of the three is that Dinklage will be playing MODOK, a floating head in a rocket-chair. This theory comes from comments made several years ago by Infinity War screenwriter Christopher Markus. Markus has said more than once that he would love to include MODOK in the MCU, and that (more importantly) he sees the character played by none other than Dinklage. However, MODOK is primarily an antagonist to Captain America and SHIELD, and doesn't seem to fit naturally into the Infinity War arc.
Slightly more likely is the possibility that Dinklage will be playing Pip the Troll, a redheaded prince from the planet Laxidazia who was transformed into a troll, and who later became a travelling companion to Adam Warlock - one of the only people in the galaxy that he seems to have any respect for. Of course, if Pip does appear in Infinity War, that would mean that Adam Warlock would presumably appear alongside him... something that James Gunn has confirmed is not happening in this film. This leaves us with the third option: that Dinklage is playing Eitri the Dwarf. Eitri is closely connected to the mythology of Thor, as the leader of the Dwarves of Nidavellir, one of the Nine Realms of Asgard. Eitri is also the one who forged Thor's hammer (and other legendary weapons), and since Mjolnir was destroyed by Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, it stands to reason that the one-eyed ruler of the Asgardians may be looking to get a replacement. If that wasn't enough, it is also rumored that the MCU version of Eitri could be the one to forge the Infinity Gauntlet itself.
Why Corvus Glaive Is Disappointing
With so much speculation about who Dinklage could be playing, the idea that he would be showing up as a voice actor was never even considered - leaving many disappointed with the (potential) reveal that he won't be showing his real face. Should this turn out to be the case, it would seem to be a case of a lot of build-up for relatively little payoff, especially when fans have been assuming that we would get to see the man himself in action, and Corvus Glaive is being played by a mo-cap actor.
Dinklage is also not known as a voice actor, with only a handful of voice credits (The Angry Birds Movie and Ice Age: Continental Drift, plus a temporary stint as a levitating robot called Ghost in the video game Destiny) to his name. There's no doubt that he could make a brilliant Corvus, of course, but when he is known for the perfect raise of an eyebrow or twitch of a mouth, it feels like a waste to be unable to see his face in this universe. Finally, an appearance as Corvus means that Dinklage won't be spending much time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as the minions of Thanos are unlikely to be sticking around after the Mad Titan himself is (presumably) vanquished by the end of the second film. In a franchise where characters can make movies for years to come, fans were hoping to see lots more of Dinklage, not simply a small part over two films.
However, there is a silver lining to the disappointment if Dinklage does turn out to be Corvus Glaive. For one thing, it means that the MCU is truly going to be fleshing out the members of the Black Order, and paying them the kind of attention that they deserve in the film. The hype around Dinklage's casting, and the decision to keep it under wraps, suggests that there is going to be something significant happening around the character, and it's nice to see that the Black Order won't simply be stock henchmen.
Is This The Whole Story?
While the fans speculating around Dinklage-as-Glaive seems fairly convinced, it is still unconfirmed by Marvel (and not likely to be at this late date, either), and it may not be the whole story. There are several things that make us believe that even if Dinklage is voicing Corvus, that's not all he's doing in Infinity War.
For one thing, Dinklage has some impressive billing on one of the official posters for Avengers: Infinity War, and is the only one who is named on the poster who has never appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe before now. He's obviously not as high as the key members of the Avengers themselves, but he's billed above the Guardians of the Galaxy and Benedict Wong, which would seem to suggest that he has a fairly meaty role in the film.
There's also the matter of his hair. Last year, Dinklage was snapped leaving a hairdresser with hair freshly dyed red, the same color that both Pip the Troll and Eitri the Dwarf have. The change was presumably for his role in Infinity War (unless he just really felt like a change), and it makes no sense for the actor to dye his hair red for a voice-only part. Finally, the Russo brothers have previously commented that fans will 'recognize' Dinklage in Infinity War, which would seem to suggest that he will be physically seen, not just heard. Of course, it's still possible for fans to recognize the actor from his voice alone, but combined with the billing and the hair dye, signs are still pointing to a bigger role in the film.
It's possible that Dinklage could even be pulling double duty, voicing Corvus while also appearing as a separate character in the film. This would go a long way to explaining all the contradictory information that we have, and while it would be unusual, it's certainly not an impossible idea. Whoever Dinklage is playing, at least fans won't have to wait much longer to find out for sure!
