Credit: Marvel Studios/NetflixCould David Tennant return to the MCU?
Related: Disney Reimagines Major Marvel Villain: First Look
Currently, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is moving forward into Phase Five, acknowledged as the second installment of the Multiverse Saga. Under The Walt Disney Company’s oversight, Marvel Studios is expanding its storytelling horizon by integrating diverse superhero collectives beyond the primary Avengers.
Kevin Feige unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 that the MCU plans to unveil teams specifically designed to tackle a broad range of dangers, encompassing threats at the “cosmic-level,” “supernatural-level,” and “street-level.”
Leading the charge in broadening superhero stories on Earth are Tom Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock/Daredevil, now designated as Marvel’s torchbearers in the street-level superhero realm.
Currently, Marvel Studios will establish the street-level storyline seeded in Hawkeye (2021) and Echo (2024), which set up Vincent D’Onofrio’s terrifying big bad Wilson Fisk/Kingpin returning from Netflix Marvel’s 2015 series Daredevil starring Charlie Cox as the eponymous Daredevil/Matt Murdock.
Related: Disney Finally Listens to Fans, Scraps Old MCU Approach
Now that the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen will return to the MCU proper in upcoming Disney+ (Disney Plus) series Daredevil: Born Again, the official canonization of the Defenders (2017) era storylines and characters, including Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage, means that some of Marvel Studios’ best villains could potentially return — and David Tennant, actor of one of the MCU’s top baddies Kilgrave from Marvel’s Jessica Jones, is opening up about coming back to the role.
David Tennant Talks Kilgrave, Possible MCU Return
Scottish actor David Tennant has had a busy past few years.
Starring in Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens television adaptation as the demon Crowley alongside Michael Sheen (Aziraphale) in 2021, Tennant recently returned for 2023’s well-received Good Omens Season 2. Tennant has kept busy, having also reprised one of his most iconic roles, The Doctor, in the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Special. He slipped back into the Tenth Doctor (now the official Fourteenth Doctor) alongside longtime companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) and the new Fifteenth Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa).
The Shakespearean actor’s 2024 has been similarly full-on, recently hosting the BAFTA Awards (British Academy Film Awards). Now, the star is finally opening up about being open to return to his iconic Marvel role on the BAFTAs red carpet.
Tennant appeared excited to talk about the role of Kilgrave AKA Kevin Thompson, the empathy-devoid, mind-controlling villain who toyed with Kristen Ritter’s Jessica Jones. Speaking on whether he would want to return to the role, Tennant said he would “love to”:
I’d love to do Kilgrave again, yeah Kilgrave would be great. Yeah, that would be good wouldn’t it?
Tennant was quick to acknowledge his character’s dramatic death at the hands of Ritter’s Jones — but was simultaneously quick to note that it was always
I mean… He did very much get his neck broken, he was very dead! But never say never in the Marvel Universe.
How Can David Tennant’s Kilgrave Return to the MCU?
Even though Kilgrave is “very dead” after Disney axed the Netflix-Marvel deal, in the whole Netflix timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kevin Feige giving the talented Tennant another shot at the intimidating Kilgrave could actually happen.
Considering the onset of the Multiverse and its ability to bring variants from alternate universes into the main Marvel universe’s story, anything can happen leading up the the big Avengers: Secret Wars universal reset.
The ousting of Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror also means that Marvel really needs strong villains right now.
The street-level story that Kevin Feige is building heading into Daredevil: Born Again, Captain America: Brave New World AKA Captain America 4, and Spider-Man 4 starring Tom Holland (Peter Parker/Spider-Man), is a prime point in which to bring Tennant’s Kilgrave back. Since it appears other Marvel’s Defenders characters are set to find a new life — see Finn Jones’ Danny Rand as Iron Fist and Jessica Henwick’s Colleen Wing — why not one of Marvel’s best villains?
Do you think David Tennant should return to the Marvel universe as Kilgrave? How could he return? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
More on Jessica Jones
In Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Krysten Ritter stars as the titular character, a former superhero turned private detective struggling with PTSD, leading her own agency called Alias Investigations. Mike Colter portrays Luke Cage, a man with superhuman strength and unbreakable skin, who crosses paths with Jones during an investigation. Rachel Taylor appears as Trish Walker/Patricia Walker, Jones’ adoptive sister and best friend, now working as a radio host. The cast also includes Wil Traval as Will Simpson, Erin Moriarty as Hope Shlottman, Eka Darville as Malcolm Ducasse, Carrie-Anne Moss as Jeri Hogarth, David Tennant as Kilgrave, J.R. Ramirez as Oscar Arocho, and many others, each bringing depth to the complex world of Jessica Jones.