The Absolute Worst Casting Choices In The MCU

Let's be real: Even if you've managed to get Oscar winners to don tights and trade quips with space raccoons, you're bound to drop the ball every once in a while. Try not to cringe too hard as we dive headfirst into the MCU's worst casting decisions ever.

Thor: The Dark World is one of the most forgotten entries of the MCU. Sure, it set up another Infinity Stone, gave Jane Foster and the gang something to do, and brought Loki back after, of course, seemingly killing him off earlier in the same flick. But that's about it. It's just kind of there.

A huge part of Dark World's failure to resonate was Eccleston's limp portrayal of Malekith. Malekith, a dark elf currently at the center of Marvel's "War of the Realms" comic event, is a malevolent trickster with a taste for wicked turnabouts and gleeful cruelty. Eccleston's embodiment reflects exactly, uhh... none of this.

His aims are vague something something return the universe to darkness, yada yada the rightful destiny of the dark elves: standard villain gobbledegook and his personality is no better defined. If you remember anything, it's his round-eyed mask and elaborately braided hair and having your performance overshadowed by the costuming department is never what an actor should aim for.

It's hard to waste the smooth, icy Mads Mikkelsen as a villain. From Casino Royale to Hannibal, he's spent most of his career sending chills down audiences' spines. And when the story around him is well-told and acted, that makes it a doubly impressive feat to somehow bungle his character. Solid writers, story, colleagues, and costuming, plus the dude who played Le Chiffre as the villain? How could that possibly go wrong? Keep watching the video to see the absolute worst casting choices in the MCU!

#MCU

Christopher Eccleston as Malekith | 0:15
Mads Mikkelsen as Kaecilius | 1:22
Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko | 2:25
Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer | 3:32
Finn Jones as Iron Fist | 4:28
Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Quicksilver | 5:07
Natalie Portman as Jane Foster | 6:19
Lee Pace as Ronan the Accuser | 7:02
Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky | 8:21
Serinda Swan as Medusa | 9:27