New heroes continue to arrive in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the latest installment, Ms. Marvel, launches its exciting and engaging run on Disney+. This is just one part of the vast expansion happening in Phase Four as more of the multiverse, cosmos, and supernatural sides of Marvel are explored. Voiceover roles are incredibly important in sharing these extraordinary tales, helping to bring to life the animated or computer-generated characters that pop up in nearly every film or tv show, and these are the best. Of the actors who provided solely their voices to certain projects, these are the best thus far.
Seth Green - Howard The Duck
What If…? was the first of its kind for the MCU – an animated show. It will soon be followed by Marvel Zombies and Spider-Man: Freshman Year. It brought back many of the stars throughout the MCU to voice their animated selves while also allowing one obscure Marvel character to gradually take on a larger role. Howard the Duck appeared in two episodes and was voiced by Seth Green.
Green had also previously voiced the characters in cameos in Guardians of the Galaxy and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. In each, he perfectly captures how Howard should sound in his cynicism and dry sense of humor. It’s unknown if Green is returning for more projects in the MCU, but if he does What If…? is the perfect place to see more of Howard the Duck – he could get his own episode, or even better, his own animated series.
Ross Marquand - Red Skull & Ultron
An unexpected twist came in Avengers: Infinity War when Thanos and Gamora arrived on Vormir only to be greeted by Red Skull as the Stonekeeper. What further surprised viewers even more was that Hugo Weaving did not reprise this role. The Walking Dead’s Ross Marquand stepped into the role, but only as a voiceover as this Red Skull was created fully through CGI – same for Avengers: Endgame.
This recasting is so shocking in large part due to how eerily similar Marquand sounds as Red Skull compared to Weaving’s version in Captain America: The First Avenger. Marquand, though, is an extremely talented and accomplished voiceover and impersonator, having also taken on Sylvester Stallone, Christopher Walken, and James Gandolfini to name a few. He also voiced the main antagonist for What If…?, Ultron, replacing James Spader.
Kerry Condon - F.R.I.D.A.Y.
After JARVIS became Vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Tony needed a new A.I. to help him run his suit. He chose from among his options, FRIDAY, voiced by Irish actress, Kerry Condon. She reprised the role from there on out, ending with Avengers: Endgame. It is possible, given their supposed storylines, that Condon could return in Armor Wars and/or Ironheart.
Condon’s voice was a definite change from JARVIS and livened up the feel and sound of subsequent films. What’s quite striking is that though she was essentially playing a computer, she was able to impart a personality and emotionality to FRIDAY and her “Sokovia’s going for a ride” line still leaves chills.
Hayley Atwell - Captain Carter
The first episode of What If…? reintroduced Hayley Atwell’s character from Captain America: The First Avenger, Peggy Carter as the one who took the super-soldier serum, thus becoming Captain Carter. This reappearance eventually translated itself back to live-action when Atwell cameoed as the Captain Carter of Earth-838 in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – and excitingly, a proposed film is now in development.
This voiceover performance by Atwell was great as it felt like an authentically and validly different version of the fan-favorite character. Thankfully, Atwell’s Captain Carter will also remain as a foundation for season two and beyond in What If…?.
Paul Bettany - J.A.R.V.I.S.
Paul Bettany is among the likes of Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, and Scarlett Johansson as actors who have appeared in the most MCU projects – he is currently at eight with seven films and WandaVision. Importantly, he’s been there since the start, voicing JARVIS in Iron Man. He is part of the reason the first film worked so well and how it launched such a global enterprise.
As JARVIS, he was clever and sassy, while still staying true to essentially being an automated voice – unexpectedly being one of the funniest characters in the Iron Man films. Interestingly, he isn’t the only person in his family to voice an AI in the MCU as his wife, Jennifer Connelly voiced Peter’s AI assistant Karen in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Chadwick Boseman - Star-Lord T'Challa
What If…? is important not only for being the first animated show as part of the MCU but also as the last performance by Chadwick Boseman as T’Challa following his tragic and sudden passing in 2020 from cancer. Thankfully, his episode of What If…? – with T’Challa becoming Star-Lord instead of Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill – is one of the series’ best in large part to Boseman’s spectacular performance.
This was a chance for Boseman to play with the characters in a way he hadn’t been able to previously in live-action. The character has had his funny moments, but here he shines as a real comedic character, while never losing the T’Challa mannerisms and characteristics that fans love.
F. Murray Abraham - Khonshu
While Oscar Isaac gives one of the best performances thus far in Phase Four as Marc Spector, Stephan Grant, and Jake Lockley in Moon Knight, F. Murray Abraham shines in voicing Khonshu. Abraham truly gives life to the CGI character, making him feel powerful, yet flawed. His voice is booming and domineering, yet still full of playfulness, which somehow makes him constantly telling Marc to kill people entertaining.
Abraham is not alone in stellar voice performances in Moon Knight with Antonia Salib and Saba Mubarak as Taweret and Ammit, respectively. Hopefully, there will a second season so he can return as Khonshu sometimes – and Moon Knight makes it highly possible in exploring more of the gods and supernatural.
Jeffrey Wright - Uatu the Watcher
The entire premise of What If…? is to show how small decisions and questions can drastically alter one’s reality and Jeffrey Wright stars as Uatu the Watcher, tasked with watching over the multiverse, but not interacting. He is largely narratorial, yet when Ultron finds him and tries to kill him, he must act to save all reality.
Jeffrey Wright gives not only one of the best voiceover performances but also one of the best performances in Phase Four so far. As his character gets closer and closer to those whom he watches, his voice too becomes more and more familiar and nuanced.
Tara Strong - Miss Minutes
Loki struck gold when they cast legendary voice actress Tara Strong in the show as Miss Minutes, and she certainly did not disappoint. At first, viewers see her as just the nice, little, animated mascot for the Time Variance Authority, but as the season progresses she is shown to be far more. Especially in the season finale, Strong is able to voice Miss Minutes as a murderous, yet effervescent character.
It should come as no surprise that Strong would be one of the best voiceover roles given her incredibly vast filmography. She’s provided her voice to hundreds of tv shows, films, and video games, voicing iconic animated characters like Timmy Turner in The Fairly OddParents and Bubbles in The Powerpuff Girls.
Bradley Cooper - Rocket Racoon
There is really no better example of a perfect voiceover in the MCU than Bradley Cooper as Rocket Racoon. This was a completely unexpected career choice for the Academy Award-nominated actor, yet it turned out to be one of the best casting decisions in the entire franchise. He is able to make Rocket so abrasive, yet endearing and endlessly funny.
Interestingly while Cooper provided the voice, Sean Gunn – director James Gunn’s brother – was responsible for the motion capture for Rocket. At this point, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is currently being described as the last hurrah for the MCU’s Guardians, so it could be the last time Cooper voices Rocket.