7 Marvel Characters Madelyn Cline Would Be Perfect To Play

madelyn cline on outer banks
(Image credit: Netflix)

Having struck gold with a hit Netflix original TV show that is dropping its third season in 2023 and putting on a scene-stealing performance as "Whiskey" in the star-studded Glass Onion cast in 2022, I think it is safe to say that Madelyn Cline has "made it." Of course, whenever a bright, young talent such as the Outer Banks cast member reaches a certain point of pristine notoriety in their career, we feel obligated to ponder the ultimate question: are there upcoming Marvel movies in their future, and when?

While neither portion of that question has a definitive answer yet, that has never stopped us from indulging in speculation over which of the many comic book heroes (or villains) that have yet to be cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (or in Sony's own realm, even) would be a great fit for the actor of the hour. In the case of Madelyn Cline, there are several Marvel characters that come to mind as a potential opportunity for her superhero movies debut – if and when that happens. The following are our favorite characters for consideration.

Blonde Phantom from Marvel Comics

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

The Blonde Phantom

While I think most would agree that Madelyn Cline's performance as Whiskey was one of the highlights of the Netflix original follow-up to Knives Out, it was a little disappointing that her character did not get to do much sleuthing of her own. Thus, I recommend making her the star of her own mystery movie and that chance, very well, could lie in the MCU's future.

One of the most famous, yet underrated, detective characters in Marvel Comics history is Louise Grant, who once worked as a secretary for a private detective before donning a mask and taking justice into her own hands as The Blonde Phantom. As someone who would love to see more period pieces in the MCU, I think it would be thrilling to see Cline lead a 1940s-set detective noir film in this role.

Layla Miller from Marvel Comics

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Layla Miller

On second thought, if there are no plan future plans for any more period dramas in the MCU, I have the perfect alternative in mind for Madelyn Cline. In fact, this character is probably a much better detective than The Blonde Phantom ever could be.

Layla Miller is a mutant with a unique set of abilities, including bringing the dead back to life, predicting the future, and a resistance to reality-warping spells – the latter of which made her (as CBR points out) one of the few people unaffected by Scarlet Witch's hex in Marvel's House of M comic book storyline. While that famous crossover story already served as an inspiration for the Disney+ series WandaVision, I would hope the MCU could somehow still find a good way to include Layla when they finally reboot the X-Men movies. 

Moondragon from Marvel Comics

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Moondragon

One aspect of Madelyn Cline's performance in Glass Onion that certainly did not disappoint was her great chemistry with Dave Bautista as Whiskey's boyfriend, Duke Cody. This gave me an interesting idea for a potential Marvel movies role for her that would flip the script quite a bit.

In the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Bautista's version of Drax mourns the death of his wife and children, but in the comics, the human-turned-alien's daughter goes on to become a badass, telepathic cosmic warrior known as Moondragon. Her hypothetical MCU induction would have to take some major liberties, but I think it would be worth it.

Hepzibah from Marvel Comics

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Hepzibah

Moondragon is not the only extra-terrestrial hero possible for Madelyn Cline. The inspiration for this next character was her role on Netflix's Outer Banks, which is, essentially, a modern, coming-of-age take on a classic pirate story, right? 

Why not cast her as a different kind of pirate who, instead of the high seas, plunders outer space with her crew of cosmic outlaws known as the Starjammers? The specific character in mind is Hepzibah, who is part of an athletic, skunk-like alien race called the Mephitisoids and has been known to fight alongside the X-Men.

Mercury from Marvel Comics

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Mercury

There is one more X-Men character for Madelyn Cline I have in mind. The inspiration for this one came from one of her earlier small screen credits: the acclaimed HBO comedy series Vice Principals, on which she played a cheerleader named Taylor Watts.

Why not cast her as someone who used to be a cheerleader until her late-blooming mutation cut that career short? The Marvel character in question is named Cessily Kincaid, but is referred to as Mercury for her having skin that behaves like liquid-metal.

Black Cat in Marvel Comics

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Black Cat

Thinking about it more, Madelyn Cline's MCU debut should really be in the role of someone especially recognizable and highly anticipated. Felicia Hardy – better known as Black Cat – is a character worthy of that kind of anticipation.

For if and when that does happen (which is more likely now than ever following the ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home), I think Cline would be a great fit for the role. She already has the looks and the spunk and would only need some platinum hair dye to complete the transformation.

Gwen Stacy is Spider-Gwen (Spider-Woman)

(Image credit: Marvel)

Spider-Gwen

If not Black Cat, there is another character with ties to Spider-Man that might be an even greater honor to finally bring to the big screen in a live-action movie. The thing is, of course, that it would have to be in a movie taking place in a different realm of the Marvel Multiverse, which already sounds fun enough.

In Earth-65, Gwen Stacy never died, but Peter Parker did and inspired the spider-bitten teen to become Spider-Woman, whom Hailee Steinfeld portrayed beautifully in the brilliant animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Of course, since Steinfeld already has an MCU role claimed, Madelyn Cline could be a good fit for the role in live-action.

Of course, there is the possibility that Sydney Sweeney is playing Gwen Stacy in Sony's upcoming Madame Web movie. If that turns out to be true, maybe any upcoming DC movies are in Madelyn Cline's future instead?

Jason Wiese
Content Writer

Jason Wiese writes feature stories for CinemaBlend. His occupation results from years dreaming of a filmmaking career, settling on a "professional film fan" career, studying journalism at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, MO (where he served as Culture Editor for its student-run print and online publications), and a brief stint of reviewing movies for fun. He would later continue that side-hustle of film criticism on TikTok (@wiesewisdom), where he posts videos on a semi-weekly basis. Look for his name in almost any article about Batman.