There’s no question that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is one of the most popular current film franchises, if not at the top of the list, depending on what metric you’re using for measurement. From Iron Man to the recently-released Thor: Love and Thunder, these Marvel movies have left a big impact in the entertainment realm, and they’re not going away anytime soon. That mean there are plenty more opportunities for major actors to contribute to the superhero franchise, including Hollywood heavyweight Tom Hanks, who was recently asked about appearing in the MCU and also gave his opinion about the performances its actors are delivering.
While appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast to talk about his work on the live-action Pinocchio remake (which can now be watched with a Disney+ subscription) and other aspects of his career, Tom Hanks was asked by host Josh Horowitz why he hadn’t been in a Marvel movie, with the host adding that Hanks must have been asked by now. The actor responded:
No, not to my knowledge have they. I do not know.
It’s one thing for Tom Hanks to have not appeared in a Marvel movie yet, but the fact that no one at Marvel Studios has even approached him for a role is curious. After all, Marvel Studios is under the Disney umbrella, and Hanks is practically Mouse House royalty with all the characters he’s played for the company over the decades, including Woody in the Toy Story movies, Walt Disney himself in Saving Mr. Banks and Geppetto in Disney’s latest take on Pinocchio. Plus, Hanks almost popped up in the Star Wars franchise through a secret Solo cameo that didn’t end up working out, although in this case, that likely had more to do with that movie being helmed by Ron Howard, a director he’s worked with on multiple occasions. Regardless, Hanks has enough Disney cred to warrant Marvel Studios at least putting him on a consideration list.
We’ll just have to wait and see if Tom Hanks ever appears in the MCU, but like anyone else who regularly takes in movies, the actor is looped in on the franchise as an audience member, at least partially. Hanks mentioned later in the interview:
Look, I haven’t seen them all, I’ll give you that right now, but the ones I’ve seen I’ve never come away from it without thinking, ‘There’s a couple great performances in there, those people really gave their all.’ I don’t know how they do that, I do not know. Then after that, it’s like, you know, did they examine the theme that I wanted to be seen, and I can tell all of them are quite good, Josh. They’re all quite good.
Tom Hanks complimenting the MCU movies he has seen and noting that he enjoyed some of the performances in them might be enough to push his name higher up on that aforementioned consideration list. Still, let’s be honest, it’s not like Hanks needs the MCU for a career boost. The man is still doing quite well for himself these days, including having recently starred as Colonel Tom Parker in Elvis (which HBO Max subscribers can view now) and cameoed in the Yellowstone prequel 1883 as George Meade. Hanks is next set to appear this December in the comedy-drama A Man Called Otto, and he’s also been added to the ensemble cast for Wes Anderson’s next movie, Asteroid City.
Rest assured though, CinemaBlend will let you know if it’s announced that Tom Hanks is joining the MCU, be it as protagonist or antagonist. Regarding what’s on the cinematic horizon overall in the near future, look through our guides of 2022 movie releases and 2023 movie releases for that information.
