10 Superhero Movie Villains Hurt By Bad Casting Decisions

Across the history of the MCU, the DCU, and other comic book movies, there have been many villains ultimately hurt by poor casting decisions. Though the movies of the MCU may have elevated the superhero movie genre to the pinnacle of cinema, live-action adaptations of comic book characters existed long before the franchise began. No good hero story would be complete without an appropriate villain, especially as many comic book antagonists are every bit as iconic as the heroes they fight.

Just as a good villain can help a superhero movie, a bad one can hurt it. Getting the right actor for the role in question is a key part of achieving success, and when the wrong person is cast to play a villain, the entire movie often suffers as a result, as happened many times with the movies of the DCEU. With that in mind, here are 10 superhero movie villains hurt by bad or ill-advised casting decisions.

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10Colin Farrell As Bullseye

Daredevil (2003)

Daredevil

PG-13

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Not availableDirectorMark Steven JohnsonRelease DateFebruary 14, 2003Runtime103 Minutes

Before the groundbreaking successes of the MCU’s movie timeline began, comic book movies rarely impressed. Such was the case with 2003’s Daredevil, which saw its brooding hero clad head to toe in red leather. The movie’s tone was largely packed with mid-00s angst, capturing the darker aspects of Hell’s Kitchen in an attempt to legitimize its adaptation of one of Marvel’s most famous street-level heroes. However, Bullseye, one of the movie’s villains, was so poorly cast that he threw Daredevil’s entire tone off.

Colin Farrell is undoubtedly a great actor, but his talents shine when he’s given free rein to inject some of his playful Irish charm into his roles. With Bullseye, that’s just what he did, and as a result, he was one of the only characters in the movie who actually appeared to have a sense of humor. Farrell’s Bullseye stuck out like a sore thumb in the otherwise over-serious Daredevil, hurting the movie as a result.

9Wes Bentley As Blackheart

Ghost Rider (2007)

Ghost Rider

PG-13

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Not availableDirectorMark Steven JohnsonRelease DateJanuary 15, 2007Runtime110 minutes

2007’s Ghost Rider is another pre-MCU Marvel movie widely considered an underwhelming adaptation of its titular character. The Nicolas Cage-led superhero movie saw Johnny Blaze make a deal with Mephisto in an attempt to save his father’s life, becoming the Ghost Rider in return. The movie’s plot concerns a demonic uprising led by Blackheart, the son of Mephisto, who intends to bring about Hell on Earth using a long-lost contract.

The entire crux of Ghost Rider’s story is that Mephisto is afraid of Blackheart, but Wes Bentley’s performance in the role makes it seem all but impossible. Bentley’s Blackheart is a little creepy but otherwise unimposing and uninteresting and doesn’t at all give off the air of a villain who would spark fear in the Devil himself. As such, Bentley’s casting in the role hurt the movie, as it made the already convoluted plot seem even less believable.

8Julian McMahon As Doctor Doom

Fantastic Four (2005)

Fantastic Four (2005)

PG-13

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Not availableDirectorTim StoryRelease DateJuly 8, 2005Runtime106 Minutes

Long before the MCU’s Fantastic Four reboot, there was the 2005 adaptation of Marvel’s first family. An origin story following the team developing their abilities, the movie’s villain was none other than the iconic Doctor Doom. Julian McMahon filled the role, with the movie depicting Doom as a wealthy CEO who covets Sue Storm and joins Reed Richards’ space mission in order to propose to her. This leads him to blame Richards for the mission’s failure, setting him up as the movie’s villain.

The problem with McMahon as Doctor Doom is that he doesn’t seem evil enough. Doom is one of Marvel’s most conniving and intelligent villains, and those simply aren’t vibes that McMahon gives off in this movie. His smooth demeanor suits that of the arrogant CEO he plays, but not the brilliant mastermind that Doom should have been. This ultimately makes the movie much worse, as its central villain just isn’t what he needs to be.

7Jonathan Majors As Kang The Conqueror

Loki (2021), Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quanumania (2023)

Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania

PG-13

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Not availableDirectorPeyton ReedRelease DateFebruary 17, 2023Runtime135 minutes

The beginning of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga saw the franchise introduce He Who Remains, a variant of Kang the Conqueror responsible for the actions of the TVA. Jonathan Majors’ appearance as the villain was well-received, as he brought all the appropriate qualities to the important antagonist. He then reappeared as another variant as the main antagonist of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. In Quantumania’s post-credits scene, many versions of Kang were shown, all played by Majors.

Though the actor was good for the role, the poor decision was actually more to do with the scope of the casting. After various behind-the-scenes issues have called Kang’s MCU future into doubt, it would seem that the decision to cast a single actor to play so many variants was a poor one. The nature of Kang as a Multiversal threat easily enables casting a wide variety of actors in the role, but having Majors play every variant now seems near-sighted.

6Arnold Schwarzenegger As Mr Freeze

Batman & Robin (1997)

Batman & Robin

PG-13DirectorJoel SchumacherRelease DateJune 20, 1997Runtime125minutes

1997’s Batman & Robin is often considered one of the worst superhero movies ever made. The film’s unnecessary campiness lacked any real charm, and various aspects of the movie were derided by critics and audiences alike. However, one particular piece of casting for the film was particularly terrible, contributing a proportionately large amount to Batman & Robin’s overall lack of quality.

Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze was one of the strangest casting decisions in superhero movie history. His action-hero status was completely at odds with the scientific nature of the character, which Batman & Robin largely overlooked. Not only did Schwarzenegger not look the part, but his Mr. Freeze was purely reliant on puns, which failed to land in Arnie’s thick Austrian accent. All in all, casting Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze was a terrible decision, and it made Batman & Robin even worse than it otherwise would have been.

5Jim Carrey As The Riddler

Batman Forever (1995)

Batman Forever

PG-13

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Not availableDirectorJoel SchumacherRelease DateJune 16, 1995Runtime117 Minutes

1995’s Batman Forever marked a departure from Tim Burton’s previous Batman movies, with Joel Schumacher taking the reins to make a more family-friendly outing for the Caped Crusader. Unfortunately, many aspects of the movie were underwhelming, most notably one of its two major villains. Alongside Tommy Lee Jones’ Two-Face, Jim Carrey appeared as the Riddler, who acted as the movie’s main antagonist.

Carrey’s Riddler was every bit as high-energy as was expected of the actor in the mid-90s. Though this had brought Carrey huge success, it wasn’t right for the character, and Batman Forever’s Riddler came off as a poor adaptation of his comic book counterpart. In fact, Carrey’s Riddler was more akin to a typical Joker character, making the actor’s casting seem as though the role he was brought on to play hadn’t been considered strongly enough.

4Jamie Foxx As Electro

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

PG-13

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Not availableDirectorMarc WebbRelease DateMay 2, 2014Runtime142 minutes

2014’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a superhero movie that received an unfair amount of criticism upon release, having since been given a more favorable reappraisal. One of the most criticized elements of the movie is its dual villains, Dane DeHaan’s Green Goblin and Jamie Foxx’s Electro. The latter was poorly cast not for the villain himself but rather for his pre-villain identity.

The character of Max Dillon is written to be a self-proclaimed “nobody”: an incredibly uncool and awkward individual obsessed with Spider-Man. Jamie Foxx was entirely the wrong actor to cast for such a role simply because he’s far too cool, and it made the movie’s early scenes seem completely ridiculous as a result. Though there was nothing wrong with Foxx’s performance, he simply wasn’t a good fit for the character as he’d been written, and the whole movie suffered as a result of his casting.

3Cara Delevingne As Enchantress

Suicide Squad (2016)

Suicide Squad

PG-13

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Not availableDirectorDavid AyerRelease DateAugust 5, 2016Runtime123 minutes

Coming relatively early in the DCEU’s movie timeline, 2016’s Suicide Squad introduced a handful of important figures into the franchise. Harley Quinn, Amanda Waller, Rick Flag, and the Joker all made their debuts in the movie, but it was sadly considered a poor effort due to various issues. One of Suicide Squad’s most glaring problems wasn’t with any of its protagonists but rather with its main antagonist, Enchantress.

Cara Delevingne was cast to play Dr. June Moon, A.K.A. Enchantress. However, Delevingne’s performance was incredibly underwhelming, and the character came off as wooden and uninteresting. This made the movie’s stakes seem far less important, and on many occasions made Enchantress seem practically laughable, particularly in the scene in which she uses a form of stone-faced belly-dancing magic. Delevingne simply couldn’t deliver a convincing performance as the main antagonist, and Suicide Squad ended up worse off for her casting.

2Topher Grace As Venom

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Spider-Man 3

PG-13

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Not availableDirectorSam RaimiRelease DateMay 4, 2007Runtime139 minutes

Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy is still considered the gold standard of pre-MCU superhero movies, but the final installment, Spider-Man 3, is widely considered the worst. Among the various points of contention, the film’s handling of the villain Venom is widely cited as its greatest crime, as the lack of comic accuracy involved with the character’s introduction was considered particularly poor. Even immediately upon the announcement of That ‘70s Show star Topher Grace being cast as Eddie Brock, many saw an issue with the casting.

Topher Grace’s slight frame and comedic energy were the antithesis of everything Eddie Brock typically stood for, making him seem an incredibly odd choice for the role. The movie’s release confirmed that his casting had indeed been a poor decision, as despite his best efforts, he simply didn’t make a convincing Brock. Though Topher Grace’s casting in Spider-Man 3 wasn’t the movie’s only problem, it was one of the worst conceptual decisions that went into the production.

1Jesse Eisenberg As Lex Luthor

Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

PG-13

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Not availableDirectorZack SnyderRelease DateMarch 24, 2016Runtime152 minutes

Very few comic book villains are as iconic as Lex Luthor. Superman’s nemesis is an evil mastermind with a desire for power and control, making him one of the most calculating villains ever written. For the DCEU, Lex Luthor was given something of an overhaul, departing from comic-accuracy in an attempt at originality. To that end, Jesse Eisenberg was cast to play Luthor.

Eisenberg’s Luthor bears no real resemblance to his comic book counterpart. The actor brought a frenetic and child-like energy to the role that didn’t fit with the character of Lex Luthor, making his casting seem especially terrible. Eisenberg’s Lex Luthor failed to capture any of the villain’s key qualities, and instead appeared to be an exercise in how to avoid poorly-executed subversive castings. In essence, Jesse Eisenberg’s Luthor remains one of the most damaging casting decisions in the history of the MCU, the DCU, and beyond.