Henry Cavill Wants To Play A Modernized Captain Britain In The MCU

Henry Cavill expresses his interest in joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, potentially as a modernized version of Captain Britain. The Englishman has played Superman in the DCEU since 2013’s Man Of Steel, reprising the role in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and both cuts of Justice League. Cavill’s version of the character is seemingly being deemphasized in DC’s future plans, following their virtual abandonment of an MCU-esque chronology following the poor reception of Joss Whedon’s Justice League film, and a proposed Michael B. Jordan-led Superman movie is on its way from writer Ta-Nehisi Coates. In the meantime, Cavill has turned his attention elsewhere, with recent action roles in Mission Impossible: Fallout and Enola Holmes.

Captain Britain, the superhero alter-ego of Brian Braddock, was introduced in Marvel Comics’ Captain Britain Weekly #1 in 1976. The flagship hero of the UK, Braddock was endowed with super-strength and -speed, flight, and energy beams by the magician Merlyn, who entrusted the hero to uphold the law as a protector. Captain Britain has a long history in the comics, including membership in the Secret Avengers and the Illuminati, as well as leading his own British super-team known as Excalibur. The character’s rather retro sensibilities are much like Steve Rogers’, and any big-screen adaptation of the hero may need to bring him to the modern world.

In an interview with THR, when asked if he would consider switching from DC to Marvel, Cavill first clarifies that he wouldn't consider an MCU character already being played by another actor. He has seen fan-casts of him as Captain Britain, however, and says playing him “would be loads of fun.” Comparing the potential role to his trans-Atlantic counterpart, Cavill would want to modernize the character in much the same way Marvel did with Evans' Captain America:

I’m never going to say a Marvel character that is already being played by someone else […] because everyone’s doing such an amazing job. However, I have the internet and I have seen the various rumors about Captain Britain and that would be loads of fun to do a cool, modernized version of that — like the way they modernized Captain America. There’s something fun about that, and I do love being British.

Cavill’s potential with Marvel is just speculative for now, as he might not be done with the DC universe just yet. Even with the Jordan film, the actor teased earlier this week that he isn’t done playing Superman yet, and would love the opportunity to carry on. And, along with the MCU, Cavill also expressed interest in the Bond franchise, but said he’d rather be the villain than the titular spy.

Fans of the actor and the MCU will be equally excited at the prospect of the former Superman becoming Captain Britain. There’s plenty of room for the hero to be modernized in the ever-expanding canon of Marvel’s Phase 4. Braddock’s comic book sister, Psylocke, was a vital member of the X-Men in the '90s, and with the MCU getting closer to rebooting the popular team once owned by Fox, it could open the door for the British superhero to make his mark. Marvel’s future plans stretch out across the next decade, and many of their later projects remain secret, so it wouldn’t be beyond the realm of possibility for Cavill to one day play a more-contemporary Captain Britain in an MCU film or show.

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Source: THR