Wonder Man, the new Marvel Cinematic Universe series available with a Disney+ subscription, is one of the least superhero-centered entries in the franchise. And yet, it’s also one of the best pieces of MCU material generated so far. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Ben Kingsley are a remarkable pairing, but there are other great performances as well, including a guest appearance by Josh Gad.
Gad appears in the most unique episode of Wonder Man, shot entirely in black and white, with Gad in a lead role playing a version of himself. The actor was apparently very game when Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige offered him the part, though he did have one request. Gad told the L.A. Times…
I said to [Marvel Studios head] Kevin Feige ... as long as I get to still play a character down the road in the MCU that isn't Josh Gad, I'm happy to do this. He said yes, so it was like, 'Let's buckle up and go on this weird journey together.’
This is a hilarious, but also completely reasonable request. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is still a massive franchise that a lot of actors clearly want to be part of. Who wouldn’t want to play a superhero if given the chance? So Gad was up for the fun of playing himself. The problem was that if “Josh Gad” exists in the MCU, would that mean Gad couldn’t play a hero or villain in a future movie?
Clearly, the Frozen actor wants to be in the MCU, and he wanted to be sure that playing himself wouldn’t end those chances. It would certainly be annoying if a great role came along, but somebody said Gad wouldn’t be right because he’d already played “himself.”
The question of whether or not actors could play multiple roles in the MCU has been going on for almost as long as the franchise itself. Could an actor who played a small role in one film also play a major character in another one? Kevin Feige has always said multiple roles were possible, and they have happened, but they’ve been mostly minor, until now.
The biggest “recasting” ever will occur in Avengers: Doomsday when Robert Downey Jr., who launched the MCU as Iron Man, appears as Doctor Doom. It will be a very different role. At the same time, the expectation is that the fact that Victor Von Doom looks like Tony Stark is expected to play into the story, and won’t be completely overlooked, the way a future Josh Gad appearance would probably ignore that he looks like "Josh Gad."
So who should Josh Gad play in the MCU? We actually don’t know a lot about what what upcooming Marvel movies are planned after Avengers: Secret Wars. However, we do know the X-Men will become a big part of the next chapter, and there must be a mutant he could play in there somewhere.
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