The Punisher actor Ben Barnes has reportedly been in talks for a brand-new role within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After some TV appearances, the British-born actor debuted on the big screen with a minor role in 2007's Stardust. He then went on to more prominent roles, starring as Prince Caspian in two Chronicles of Narnia installments. Barnes also landed the titular role in 2009's Dorian Gray, starring alongside Colin Firth and Iron Man 3 actress Rebecca Hall.
In recent years, Barnes has had more of a presence on television. In 2016, he played Logan Delos on HBO's Westworld, serving as a member of the company that initially created the deranged park. After playing one of the main roles in season one, he only recurred in season 2, as the show briefly explored the fallout of the events from season 1. More notably, Barnes turned in a popular and acclaimed performance in both seasons of the ultra-violent Marvel/Netflix collaboration The Punisher. His character, the villainous Billy Russo (aka Jigsaw), was killed off at the end of the show. The Punisher never got to continue without him, with Netflix ultimately dropping the ax on all it's Marvel shows.
While promoting his new BBC miniseries Gold Digger, Barnes spoke with Digital Spy regarding his recent tenure with Marvel's Punisher. Asked directly whether he would ever work with Marvel again, Barnes said that he would absolutely be willing to step back into that universe. He then revealed that such talks have previously taken place. "I did talk to them about something this year, but it was a bit too close to doing The Punisher, I think, for them. But, you know, they have proof that you can - particularly if it was on TV, you can go back and do a movie if there's a character that's right. I was definitely talking about a couple of superheroes last year." Unfortunately, while none of those discussions panned out in the long-term, he hasn't ruled it out for the future - though he stated that it would have to happen sometime soon, as he doesn't want to play a 50-year-old superhero.
Not content with being the architect of the entire MCU, Kevin Feige recently assumed a new role at Marvel, taking charge of both the television and comics divisions. Even before that, however, it was announced that the shared universe would branch out into officially-connected TV shows for the first time on Disney+. A number of new shows, including a Loki spin-off, have already been confirmed for phase 4. Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan will also reprise their roles in a new show, with The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, which is currently filming.
Previously, it seemed impossible for the stars of Marvel TV to make a jump to the official canon of the movies. That trend seemed to be broken, however, with Luke Cage actor Mahershala Ali confirmed to be playing Blade in Phase 5. As such, the TV shows could serve as a test-run and then a potential springboard for actors. Predictably, Barnes neglected to mention what roles he was allegedly in talks for. Based on his wording and the film's eventual casting, however, a safe bet would be that it was Eternals. Still, Barnes will next star in the Shadow & Bone adaptation, playing the main antagonist. And, given that the Marvel Cinematic Universe shows no signs of stopping, there will no doubt be plenty more heroic roles for Barnes to audition for in the years to come.
Source: Digital Spy
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