Can any of you Marvel fans out there possibly imagine Seth Rogen playing Ben Grimm, better known as The Thing? Yes, that is a very serious question. I mean, we did have his (sadly) former best friend and co-worker James Franco play Harry Osborn in the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies. And you know what? He was actually pretty good. When he was working with Seth Rogen, they made an iconic comedy duo. The difference between them is that James Franco has far more experience playing serious roles and I do believe that most fans would agree that he’s a better actor than Seth Rogen. No disrespect to Seth Rogen, not in the slightest. He is hilarious and he’s been proving that he can produce some very wacky and funny material. Just get on Amazon Prime and watch the animated Invincible series. He even voices an alien. It’s no question that what makes us love Seth Rogen is his iconic voice and use it to his comedic advantage. You can even listen to him as Pumba in the 2019 live-action The Lion King movie and he’ll instantly pull you in. And to think, we’re so used to hearing him be vulgar and joke about random things while smoking weed. That’s okay, because I believe he’s capable of having more range than some people will give him credit for. And for the record, I will point out that I didn’t see the 2015 Steve Jobs movie in full. I did see bits and pieces of Seth Rogen’s performance and he did show that he’s capable of playing more serious roles. That’s good, because I’d personally like to see him in more roles where he’s not playing typical Seth Rogen all the time.
How about a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? What particular Marvel character would be best suited for Seth Rogen? How about the blue-eyed, kind-hearted, rock-skinned hero from Yancy Street, better known as The Thing? Wait, put on the brakes for a few minutes. Why would Seth Rogen be considered for a character like The Thing? Seth Rogen isn’t known for doing any action movies and we all know him for cracking crude jokes. You know, not the kind of jokes you’d hear in a Marvel movie. Can you even imagine hearing his loud voice coming out of the rocky mouth of The Thing? That’s a rather curious thought, but we should seriously consider if this casting choice would work. In fact, there are some legitimate rumors floating around the web about this curious casting rumor. According to someone who has apparently worked on the set of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it looks like the Fantastic Four team might be appearing in the film. And to top that off, there is a little casting leak of all four heroes and one of them is Seth Rogen as The Thing. And just to expose more smoke to this fire, the leak also claims that Glenn Howerton will be playing Mr. Fantastic. You know, from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia? Now that’s another surprise. There’s also Kristen Bell for the Invisible Woman and Chase Stokes for the Human Torch.
This whole casting leak was quite a surprise, but without a doubt, Seth Rogen for The Thing was by far the big attention-grabber. I think we should all seriously think about how this casting choice can actually work. Okay, so maybe these casting leaks aren’t so legitimate, but we’ll find out eventually. Hopefully by sometime this year, because I think we all need to see Marvel’s first family properly done in the MCU. And if Marvel does confirm this supposed casting leak, then it looks like we’ll be in for an interesting take on the team. Let’s just sink in the possibility of Seth Rogen joining the MCU as a superhero, let alone as The Thing. Can he do it? Well, it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen an actor attached mostly to comedy pull off the superhero act. A very good example is Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, better known as Ant-Man. And to think, back when Marvel announced they were doing a solo Ant-Man movie, very many people were skeptical. In fact, there were a lot of laughs and a lot of doubts, but look what happened. Paul Rudd managed to deliver a killer performance as Scott Lang and sold us on being a seemingly gimmick superhero with deceptively formidable powers.
I think the same can be done if Seth Rogen is indeed playing The Thing. Okay, so let’s just get this out of the way, Seth Rogen has never really gotten ripped for a role. He’s always known for being more on the chubby side and he has always used that to his comedic advantage. It should be noted that he’s also very good at it, so why should he change anything? Well, when it comes to joining the MCU, the actors typically have to get in “superhero shape”. Heck, even Paul Rudd has done it when he played Scott Lang and boy, was it a good change of pace seeing him so ripped. Seth Rogen actually wouldn’t have to do that if he played The Thing. The answer is simple: this is a CGI character he’d be playing. Do you see Mark Ruffalo getting super jacked to play the Hulk? Not at all, but he doesn’t have to. Just put him in that motion capture suit and have CGI most of the work. That would be Seth Rogen’s alternative for avoiding the superhero shape workouts. That’s okay, because we would only need his famous voice for The Thing and make us laugh with it. Now that is something he can probably pull off. On a fun side note, Ben Grimm was also raised Jewish and that background reflects on the way he talks and usually acts.
Fun fact about Seth Rogen: he was also raised Jewish. Maybe that’s something he can use to influence his performance as the wise-cracking Thing. Don’t forget, this is a character that isn’t afraid to tell it like it is and talk like he’s from a comedy show from the ’60s. That is something Seth Rogen can work with and if he can make that work, then we will have ourselves a very faithful MCU version of The Thing. What are your thought, Marvel fans? Do you think Seth Rogen is a good choice to play The Thing? Again, don’t go too crazy over this supposed casting leak because it might not be true. Still, it’s pretty fun to entertain the idea of this unexpected choice to play such a tough and lovable Marvel hero.Paul Rudd Marvel
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