Venom and the 5 Marvel Characters That Need Screen Time

With the recent announcement of the addition of the highly anticipated Cloak and Dagger on ABC's Freeform channel, the expectation has been raised that soon our favorite characters, no matter how obscure, could one day make it to the MCU in some form. So, here are my top 5; I'd love to hear what yours are as well, so let me know in the comments.

She-hulk

Jennifer Walters, the meek and mousy lawyer cousin of Bruce Banner... Bruce gave her a blood transfusion, as no other donors of her blood type were available; the radioactive blood mutated Jennifer as it had her cousin, transforming her into the She-hulk (Marvel.com)

I've been barking up this tree for a long time, so if this were to come true I would be the happiest of campers. A fun trait about Jennifer Walters is that she knows that she is a comic book character, so allowing her a series of her own would allow Marvel to have what I'm loving calling "the Deadpool effect," allowing Marvel's comedic element to shine even more.

My casting choice would be Aubrey Plaza.

I know that you may think her an odd choice for Jennifer Walters, but Plaza most definitely has the wit and and presence to embody She-hulk. Though she hasn't worked much in such a physical role, I believe she would be up to the challenge. With her and Chris Pratt's natural chemistry, perhaps we could even see her in [Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2](tag:1081113) in the Hulk's stead.

Spider-Woman

When young Jessica suffered uranium poisoning... Dr. Drew was forced to inject her with his untested spider serum and seal her in a genetic accelerator. In stasis for decades, her aging greatly slowed, she awoke with no memories of her own past... After serving with... the Avengers formed in the aftermath of M-Day, Jessica left the team after the Superhuman Registration Act divided the heroes. She ultimately decided to ally herself with Captain America's anti-registration team, and is currently part of the unsanctioned Avengers (Marvel.com).

Another character that could tie into much of what is happening in the MCU, I would love to see her involved somehow in an unsanctioned Avengers team after Civil War comes out (perhaps, as part of the Secret Avengers, though I'd love it if this character made it to the big screen). Who would I cast? Again, a few names in mind:

My casting choice would be none other than Anna Kendrick.

I would try to argue this myself, but Alisha Grauso has already done such a great job with her own justifications for Kendick:

The mega-talented actress can do it all: Angst, comedy, stage, drama, musicals, commercials - you name it, she's done it. Kendrick would bring improv-level quick-wittedness to the role of Spider-Woman, fitting perfectly into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and its trademark humor. Still, Jessica Drew is a pretty conflicted character, having been brainwashed, impersonated, and betrayed more times than you can count. As a result, it's left her with a cynical nature and definite trust issues, both of which Kendrick has had plenty of experience portraying on screen in such a way so that audiences still really root for her.

Moon Knight

Marc Spector was the son of a rabbi whose family had fled Europe in the 1930s to escape the Holocaust. As Marc matured, he rejected his father's morality and embraced materialism. He became a heavyweight boxer, then a U.S. Marine, and then a CIA operative... Moon Knight is a skilled boxer, commando, martial artist, acrobat, gymnast and pilot. His multiple identities grant him resistance to some psychic assaults (Marvel.com).

Believing that the Egyptian moon god, Khonshu, had restored him to life after his death in order to serve as the moon's knight of vengeance, he dons a cloak taken from Khonshu's statue, "gaining enhanced strength, endurance, and reflexes at night, reaching his pinnacle during a full moon, and sometimes has prophetic visions." In some ways, Moon Knight is Marvel's crazy version of Batman, but there is only one person I could see in this role:

Jim Caviezel

A terrific actor, Caviezel is the definition of ‘dark’ and ‘gritty.’ Having played a military and CIA operative in Person of Interest, he has proven to have the moves and attitude to deliver on Moon Knight.

Venom

There have been a few iterations of this alien symbiote in the comics and I could see Marvel/Sony running with this in a few different directions as the MCU proceeds (I myself would love to see an Agent Venom spin-off series, someday); however, it would be foolish to think that we wouldn't get an origin story for Venom after the horrendous rendition of the character in Spider-Man 3. Venom's story wasn't so bad (considering the colossal mess of a script), but the casting... Topher Grace? Really? I digress.

So, assuming we get Eddie Brock back into the slimy suit, let's look at his quick bio.

Spider-Man unwittingly donned the [Venom] costume, which immediately made itself apparent. He brought it to the tower at Our Lady of Saints Church gambling the intense sound of its bells would destroy it... the symbiote, weak and dying, slithered down into the church where Eddie Brock kneeled in prayer... begg[ing] forgiveness for the suicide he was contemplating (Marvel.com).

We've got a handful of prime candidates to play this role, depending on which direction they take it, but my first choice would be Tom Hardy.

In my opinion, Hardy is one of the most versatile and talented actors performing right now. Having already shown his strength and intensity as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, I don't think I have to argue how great he would be as Venom.

The Leader

Sam Sterns’ desire to be more like his scientist brother Phillip [may have] caused him to transform into the hyper-intelligent Leader when he too was exposed to gamma radiation... Recovering in the hospital, he discovered he had an insatiable thirst for knowledge and rapidly read through every book he could lay his hands on.Weeks later, Sam underwent a physical transformation as well, when his skin turned green and his skull expanded upwards (Marvel.com).

Hear me out... This character has already been introduced into the MCU, so why couldn't he become a primary villain in the future of the MCU? I'd love to see what Tim Blake Nelson could do with the character.

Now, I'm not sure how Universal owning the rights to a solo Hulk film would interfere with this, but it wouldn't even have to be a solo film. The Hulk could be the primary focus, but it could be done alongside the other Avengers in some capacity (much like the rumor for Thor: Ragnarok).