One Oscar-Nominated Actor Is Still Waiting For Marvel To Call

Gary Oldman in The Dark Knight

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is brimming with pedigreed actors, many of whom have curried the favor of the Academy Awards. Take Brie Larson, as a recent example. She is transitioning from a recent Best Actress win for her work in Room to the leading role in a Captain Marvel movie. Big time! Well, current Best Actor frontrunner Gary Oldman also has his sights set on a possible role in the MCU, recently stating:

Marvel hasn't called me. But now that you mentioned it, if they're tuning in, my son wants me to!

Has Gary Oldman's son already forgotten the fact that the versatile character actor fought alongside Batman (Christian Bale) in three Christopher Nolan DC comic book movies? Sure, the role of Jim Gordon isn't exactly a superhero part, but I can't see Marvel handing a hero role to Gary Oldman, either. At most, he'd nab one of those juicy supporting parts that go to the likes of Robert Redford, Martin Freeman or Tilda Swinton. Then again, Michael Douglas is playing Hank Pym in the Ant-Man movies, so maybe there is hope for Oldman, after all.

What's counting against him is the fact that Gary Oldman has DC cred in his corner, and precious few have made the leap from DC to Marvel, or vice versa. Yes, the new Commissioner Gordon is played by J.K. Simmons, who famously played J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. But those weren't Marvel movies, they were Sony adventures. The line was blurred.

At the moment, Gary Oldman is collecting all of the accolades for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Joe Wright's Darkest Hour. The movie picked up six Oscar nominations earlier this week, including Best Picture in addition to Oldman's Best Actor nomination. If there's a nod that fits perfectly with the actor's performance, it's the nomination for Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling. I mean, look at this. It looks NOTHING like Gary Oldman!

Now that the suggestion of Gary Oldman in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is out there -- even if it's just to make Oldman's son happy, as he tells People -- I'm sure Marvel President Kevin Feige is salivating, thinking of possible roles for the brilliant character actor. Could Oldman play Reed Richards in an MCU Fantastic Four movie? Would he shave his head and sit in a wheelchair to play Professor X, should the X-Men find their way over to the MCU? To stay up to date on all of the information we have on Upcoming Marvel Movies, bookmark our handy guide.

Sean O'Connell
Managing Editor

Sean O’Connell is a journalist and CinemaBlend’s Managing Editor. Having been with the site since 2011, Sean interviewed myriad directors, actors and producers, and created ReelBlend, which he proudly cohosts with Jake Hamilton and Kevin McCarthy. And he's the author of RELEASE THE SNYDER CUT, the Spider-Man history book WITH GREAT POWER, and an upcoming book about Bruce Willis.