NFL Players Are Trying To Get Marvel Roles Now
NFL veteran Cam Heyward recently shared his desire to land a Marvel role on social media.
Despite the shrieking cries of auteur filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, Marvel studios has been one of the biggest names in cinema for over a decade. Beginning with 2008’s Iron Man, the MCU has grown to become the second largest employer of musclebound hunks in the United States, second only to the National Football League. According to a recent writeup in Comicbook.com, those two worlds could soon collide, as defensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cam Heyward, has thrown his helmet into the ring for a potential Marvel casting.
In a recent tweet from the NFL superstar, which tags Marvel studio head Kevin Feige, Heyward floated his credentials for consideration, noting that his muscular frame would fit the bill of MCU superstars like Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, and Chris Evans, who each got ripped for their respective superhero roles. As the MCU has continued to expand into a series of films, Disney+ shows, and a host of other media, nearly everyone in Hollywood has been considered for a role in the expansive cinematic universe. Perhaps Feige will consider thinking outside the box and hiring NFL players fresh off the field.
The most recent Marvel film to enter the pantheon of the cinematic universe is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which formally introduced the impending threat of Jonathan Majors’ Kang The Conqueror. With the intergalactic menace set to be the big bad for the future of the franchise, through 2025’s Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and 2026’s Avengers: Secret Wars, the Avengers team may be in dire need of a defensive tackle to take him out.
In fact, it wouldn’t be the first time a professional athlete took on the mantle of blockbuster Hollywood acting. Dwayne Johnson, Mark Harmon, and even Marvel’s own Dave Bautista all got their start in professional sports before taking their performances to the silver screen. Given Marvel’s penchant for choosing only the highest of peak performers, it’s worth noting that seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady is recently retired and looking for a new hobby.
In addition to the shared visuals of incredibly muscular performers, Marvel and the NFL share humungous viewing numbers from crowds across stadiums and theaters. Marvel films routinely break box office records, sometimes to the tune of nearly $2 billion, such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, while Super Bowl LVII enjoyed over 113 million home viewers, on top of the 68,000 attendees who turned out to catch the Phoenix, Arizona game in person.
Given all the similarities between Marvel and the NFL, it looks as though Cam Heyward’s chances of landing a role in the MCU aren’t as slim as the margins on the Super Bowl spread. Although, chances may be better for players hailing from the New England Patriots or New York Giants, given Kevin Feige’s time spent growing up in Boston and New Jersey, respectively. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see, but it seems clear from the likes and retweets alone that many fans would find this casting to be a major touchdown.
