After years of fan casting, Zac Efron has confirmed he would jump at the chance to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe if the right role came along.
As the MCU continues to expand across all platforms, Disney and Marvel Studios continue to recruit new talent, from actors Oscar Isaac and Florence Pugh to directors like Chloé Zhao.
Efron, who kick-started his career by playing Troy Bolton in the Disney Channel’s hugely successful High School Musical, has recently been a popular fan cast for characters like Cyclops, Nova or the Human Torch… and whilst some say he would make a great Wolverine, others lament the actor’s 5’8″ frame as “too short” for the role.
Whilst one Reddit thread claimed Efron had already been cast in an “unspecified MCU role” (clearly incorrectly) eight years ago, Efron did recently confirm he would love to play a superhero or villain in the franchise.
Speaking with ExtraTV for his latest project, Stephen King’s Firestarter, Efron was asked about the fan casting.
“I love the Marvel universe,” he said. “I’ve been a fan of Marvel since I started walking. If the right character comes along, and they want me to jump in, I would jump at the opportunity.”
Rumour has it that when Marvel Studios was casting Adam Warlock for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, they were looking for someone fitting Efron’s description, which eventually led them to cast Will Poulter.
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Similar to Robert Pattinson’s journey from Twilight to Batman, Efron has made a concerted effort to shed his High School Musical ‘pretty boy’ image.
He has shown off the diversity in his range by starring in the big-budget comedy Neighbors, Hugh Jackman’s musical The Greatest Showman, and indie dramas like Lee Daniels’ The Paperboy and Netflix’s Ted Bundy film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.
He also teamed up with Animal Kingdom director Anthony Hayes last year for his Australian feature film debut, the survival thriller Gold, which premiered on Stan earlier this year.
Watch Efron’s full interview with ExtraTV here:
