How Marvel Fan Castings Impact The Real Behind The Scenes Process

Marvel Studios casting director Sarah Finn reveals how fan casting impacts their decisions behind the scenes, and why they’re sometimes off the mark.

Marvel Studios’ casting director reveals how fan casting impacts the real MCU process. Everyone has a dream version of a character with a particular actor in mind, and it is the casting director’s job to find the perfect person for the role that will satisfy the filmmaker’s vision and hopefully capture the essence of the character. While Robert Downey Jr. is now synonymous with the character of Iron Man, before he was cast, there were likely fan forums about who should play the hero on the big screen that urged filmmakers to go in a different direction.

For Marvel Studios, Sarah Finn has been spearheading the casting of every MCU film and Disney+ television project, with the sole exception being The Incredible Hulk. Finn is responsible for seeing the dramatic potential in Chris Evans as Captain America, despite his having played the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four movies. She saw potential in Chris Pratt and convinced director James Gunn to watch his audition. She found Iman Vellani and cast her in Ms. Marvel in a real star-is-born moment. She is as much responsible for shaping the success of the MCU as Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige.

Related: Marvel Would Be Stupid To Not Cast Taron Egerton As MCU Wolverine

In an appearance on the This Week In Marvel podcast, via The Direct, Finn reveals the pressure around fan casting regarding the MCU and how it impacts their creative decisions. She reveals that, while they are fun to look at and creatives do want to give the audience what they want, they need to balance it with the story they are telling. She points out that fan casting is done without knowing what direction the project is going in. Check out Finn’s comment below:

I think that it affects us just in terms of always, it’s not like we already don’t show up wanting to do our best every day and hoping that we’re gonna get it right all the time, but I think if anything, we want so badly to make it work, make it fun, make everyone enjoy it, and be successful for the fans. So I think it just adds to that sense of pressure, responsibility, and passion… And then the fans, like you were saying, there are fan castings, there are fan expectations, and sometimes, that can be awesome and really fun to look at, but sometimes, people may not know that we’re actually heading in a really different direction here, so it’s not relevant, but we can’t really talk about that, but hopefully you’re gonna enjoy it, so there’s also things that we can’t share in the process. So what we’re hoping to do is create for the actors kind of a blank slate where they can come in with their instincts and just do their best work without having all of those external thoughts and pressures on them, and then we figure it out together.

Marvel Studios clearly keeps an eye out for what fans want, apparent with the casting of John Krasinski as Mr. Fantastic of Earth-838 in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which director Sam Raimi revealed as Feige’s idea. While many thought it was a hint at Krasinski playing the character in the main MCU in the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, comments by Feige and the sheer nature of the cameo’s brutality seem to indicate it was a one-time, fun bit of fanservice, with the studio likely going with a different approach for the main film. Marvel Studios has yet to decide on a director for Fantastic Four, so it is likely there won’t be any official casting for some time.

Fan casting around Phase 4 is on the rise, due to cameo appearances by stars like Charlize Theron and Harry Styles in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Eternals, respectively. With rumors ranging from Taron Egerton meeting with Marvel about Wolverine to Ryan Gosling expressing interest in Ghost Rider, the fan casting won’t be slowing down anytime soon. In terms of real casting news, Marvel Studios announced Brie Larson as Captain Marvel, Simu Liu as Shang-Chi, and Mahershala Ali as Blade at San Diego Comic-Con in the past, so it is entirely likely some major Marvel announcements could come at SDCC next week.

Next: Why Doctor Strange 2’s Wasted Fantastic Four Cameo Was No Mistake

Source: This Week In Marvel/The Direct

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