Simon Pegg

Simon Pegg’s resume is replete with geek cred. Even setting aside beloved original projects like the so-called ‘Cornetto Trilogy’, he has appeared in numerous fan favorite franchises, most notably ‘Star Wars’, ‘Star Trek’, and ‘Doctor Who’. But even with all that under his belt, there are still some properties that are conspicuous for their absence. Among those is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But while that doesn’t seem likely to change in the immediate future, there is one Marvel role that Pegg has his eye on, as he explained in a conversation with JoBlo:

“I mean, Captain Britain was this Marvel superhero that I loved growing up, ’cause he was the British member of that community. I even have a Captain Britain mask from when I was a kid, but I fear I would probably be slightly too old now. But if they do have… If a Captain Britain movie comes about, they’re gonna need a British cast, so… I’ll be waiting.”

Pegg may have a point as far as his age is concerned, but then it’s not as if he’d be the only Marvel star with his thirties in the rearview (a list that also includes Robert Downey Jr., Paul Bettany, Don Cheadle, and Mark Ruffalo, among others). Though while he is a bit older than Captain Britain tends to be depicted, there’s no reason they couldn’t introduce an older version of the character if they were of a mind to do so.

The real question is less of Pegg’s age than of the film rights to the character. Captain Britain first appeared in ‘Captain Britain Weekly’, and upon his introduction in 1976, his strip was the first original content produced by Marvel UK (which to that point had simply reprinted American Marvel stories). However, while the character debuted as a solo feature, he is most strongly associated (in the United States, at least) with the X-Men. This is both because of his time as a member of Excalibur and of course, his twin sister Psylocke, who has been on the X-Men’s A-list since 1986. Given that, it’s not entirely clear whether or not the Captain Britain rights would actually lie with Fox. Of course, if the currently pending merger between Disney and Fox is allowed to proceed, the question may well be moot.

Would you like to see Simon Pegg take up the Amulet of Right, or is there another actor you’d like to see as Captain Britain? As always, let us know in the comments!