Jonathan Majors and his legal troubles have cost him his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the franchise is now rumoured to be pivoting towards a new multi-phase villain for the MCU. While rumours are amock about which actor might debut in the MCU next, one such rumour, that of Ryan Gosling, has been picking up steam.
Gosling has been rumoured to be in talks with Marvel to play the Beyonder, replacing Jonathan Majors as the chief antagonist of Secret Wars. While the rumours of the Beyonder existing in the MCU were everpresent, it was expected that he would be a variant of Kang. However, it seems the character might be its entity now, with Gosling essaying the role, if rumours are to be believed.
Ryan Gosling will have to be teased from Deadpool 3
The Beyonder is a character who was responsible for the first Secret Wars crossover event, putting our heroes and villains on Battleworld to duke it out with each other. Initially, when it came to the MCU, it was expected that these duties would be taken over by Kang, given his universal presence and extra-continuity know-how. However, if Ryan Gosling does end up getting the role, the MCU at large will have to start building up to him from the next film itself.
Given that Marvel has the luxury of scrapping Kang after Loki Season 2, the next entry in the MCU, Deadpool 3, which has been delayed, could introduce the Beyonder in full capacity, or start teasing his character, just as Thanos was at the end of the first Avengers film. The Beyonder, or any villain for that matter who will serve as a threat for the next Avengers film, will have to be teased extensively for the character to become familiar with the audiences.
This would mean altering the story ever so slightly for multiple films that are already in production. However, the delay caused by the writer’s and actors’ strike has given Marvel some space to implement any changes that they want, given that Deadpool 3 will not hit theatres until mid-2024.
Ryan Gosling might be signing up for a new role
Given that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is going to see a huge influx of characters in the form of the X-Men, The Fantastic Four and other related characters, it is possible that Gosling will be playing a completely separate character. After his run as Ken, the actor would be suited for comedic roles like a variant of Deadpool, or more cartoonish characters like Mr.Immortal.
Gosling could also essay the role of other cosmic entities like The Living Tribunal, Knull or even Impossible Man. The actor has never been shy to show his range in his films, doing serious characters like K in Blade Runner 2049 and more comedic roles like Ken in Barbie. The actor could play a host of characters that would be relevant to the immediate MCU, chief among which could be the Nova Corpsman Richard Rider, who might serve as the new protagonist of the cosmic MCU, now that Star-Lord has settled on Earth.
