When Reba McEntire says she wants to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we stand up and listen. Several actors have lobbied to be the next star of the MCU, but most fans wouldn’t think of the Happy Place star as someone who would be interested in a comic book role. The multi-talented McEntire has the singing and acting chops to chew up any scene she’s in, so it’s only a matter of what characters she’d have the most fun portraying. From well-established Marvel characters to lesser known ones, there’s a world of possibilities open for McEntire. And if she were to ask our advice, we’ve compiled a list of 10 characters she can play in the MCU.
The list of Marvel characters we’ve compiled for Reba McEntire to play ranges from franchises on the small screen of streaming, to big budget blockbusters that land in theaters. What’s great about MCU castings is we’ve been conditioned to expect the unexpected. McEntire has said she’d like her superpower to be talking to animals, and while we could stick with that request, it’s more fun to think outside-the-box and come up with the most interesting characters possible for the “Queen of Country.”
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Nightmare
When your darkest dreams are turned against you, Nightmare is typically to blame. Nightmare stalks the Dream Dimension, feeding on the thoughts and fears that take place while a person is sound asleep. Nightmare can also influence those dreams, twisting them to his personal gain while he feeds on their psychic energy. The Fear Lord has crossed paths with Doctor Strange on several occasions, though he’s also a formidable foe for the Avengers as well. He recently tangled with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Jed MacKay’s run that’s taking place right now.
Marvel Studios would have to do some gender-bending for Reba McEntire to take on the role of Nightmare, but how entertaining would it be to see McEntire as a supernatural threat lurking from the shadows.
Morgan Le Fay
Speaking of supernatural, with Robert Downey Jr. set for an MCU return as Doctor Doom, there’s no better time than now to cast Morgan Le Fay. The centuries-old sorceress has connections to the Darkhold and Doctor Doom, even becoming a lover of Victor Von Doom. The Darkhold is what turned Wanda Maximoff into a villain in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so there’s some plot elements for Reba McEntire to play with there. We could also see sparks fly between Morgan Le Fay and Doctor Doom if she were to appear in Avengers: Doomsday.
With Agatha All Along coming to an end, and Ghost Agatha and Billy off to find Tommy, there’s a slot open for McEntire’s Morgan Le Fay to become the central villainous witch in the MCU. What’s great about a McEntire/Morgan Le Fay casting is she can show up on either Disney+ or theatrical project.
Amora / Enchantress
Now you might think we’re sticking too close to the sorcerer theme, but hear us out. Even though Sophia Di Martino played a version of Amora’s Enchantress on Loki, there’s still room for the villain to have a proper MCU introduction. Enchantress has long been a thorn in the side of Thor, following him from Asgard to Midgard/Earth to cause havok. She’s involved in a pretty interesting storyline taking place right now in The Immortal Thor, where Enchantress had Dario Agger, owner of Roxxon, killed, with Thor framed for the murder. Agger’s left left a void in Roxxon that Enchantress has jumped in to fill.
Chris Hemsworth has stated that he’s up for more Thor appearances, and Enchantress is one of the major villains left in his rogues gallery to introduce. McEntire should have the opportunity to play Enchantress if she’s up for it.
Sister Margaret Grace Murdock
Next year brings the debut of Daredevil: Born Again, the first project for the Man Without Fear since his Netflix series ended. The third season of Dardevil drew inspiration from the “Born Again” story in the comics and introduced viewers to Sister Maggie Grace (Joanne Whalley), who helped Matt Murdock on his road to recovery following the events in The Defenders. What we soon discover is Maggie Grace is actually Matt’s mother. Marvel could bring Whalley back to portray Sister Maggie in Daredevil: Born Again, but what if they decide to recast with Reba McEntire’s star power?
The role of Sister Maggie Grace is much smaller in scale than some of the other casting ideas we’ve mentioned, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Marvel’s street-level shows haven’t shied away from big name stars, with Sigourney Weaver taking on a villain role in The Defenders as well.
Abigail Brand
We know the X-Men are coming, so why not start casting for Marvel’s merry mutants by finding someone to play Abigail Brand. The Director of S.W.O.R.D. may not be at the top of the list of characters X-Men fans want to see, but Brand is another avenue to the cosmic side of the MCU. The no-nonsense Abigail Brand is part-human and part-alien, with S.W.O.R.D. serving as the last line of defense against interstellar attacks. We’ve already seen S.W.O.R.D. in the MCU in WandaVision and S.A.B.E.R. plays a similar role. But none of that should stop McEntire from playing the green-haired mutant. Plus, McEntire’s addition to the X-Men would be put more eyes on the franchise.
Isabella Carmela Magdalena “Ma” Gnucci
With Punisher making a return in Daredevil: Born Again, the street-level side of the MCU is starting to expand quickly. It’s unknown if Punisher will get his own series again, but if he did, Reba McEntire would be a curious choice for Isabella Carmella Magdalena “Ma” Gnucci. Ma is the matriarch of the Gnucci Crime Family, so that immediately puts her in the crosshairs of the Punisher. Ma also has the physical uniqueness of having lost both her arms and legs when Punisher fed her to polar bears at the Central Park Zoo.
There are openings for Marvel to continue to grow its street-level universe, and mafia crime families are the easiest way to go about it. Seeing Reba McEntire have intense altercations with Jon Bernthal’s Punisher would be worth the price of admission.
Nova Corps Leader
Thanos decimated Xandar and the Nova Corps heading into Avengers: Infinity War, leaving the status of the Nova Corps in limbo for the time being. Glenn Close played Nova Prime’s Irani Rael in Guardians of the Galaxy, but it’s still unknown if she survived Thanos’ attack. If the Nova Corps were to ever return, Reba McEntire could be another leader for them.
It would be a pretty easy role for McEntire to take on as well, and not as demanding physically as some other parts. McEntire can be stoic and dish out commands all while wearing a Nova Corps costume, which would allow her to get the feel of being a Marvel superhero.
Francis Ketch
There’s some debate on which Ghost Rider should blaze into the MCU, with Johnny Blaze, Danny Ketch, and Robbie Reyes as the top choices. What’s great about the Ghost Rider fanchise is all three have the possibility of appearing, and even fighting alongside each other. Though it’s a much smaller role, Danny Ketch’s adopted mother, Francis Ketch, is sitting right there for Reba McEntire to play. Depending on what McEntire’s schedule is with NBC’s Happy Place chugging along, she may only have time for smaller parts.
Mary Parker
If you hadn’t heard, Spider-Man 4 is currently in development, with Tom Holland confirming filming is scheduled to start next summer. Peter Parker lost his Aunt May in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and we know his parents died when he was very young. However, Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures haven’t shown us Peter’s parents ever since the two studios decided to collaborate. Of course, it would have to be in flashbacks, but something tells us Reba McEntire as Mary Parker is the kind of casting that would land with audiences.
The Amazing Spider-Man movies showed us Richard and Mary Parker in flashbacks, with Embeth Davidtz playing the latter. A new era of Spider-Man movies is upon us, so why not add more fresh faces like Reba McEntire? Comic fans even got to follow Richard and Mary Parker’s adventures as Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Mephisto
You didn’t think we’d let an MCU fancasting go by without trying to find someone to play Mephisto, did you? We brought this up when we reported on Reba McEntire’s desire to play a Marvel character, but there’s been a desire to see Marvel’s version of the Devil finally show his face in the MCU. We’ve had a Mephisto namedrop in Agatha All Along, and Mephisto was the prime suspect in WandaVision as the villain secretly pulling the strings. We’ve yet to see Mephisto, but seeing Reba McEntire as the villain is too good a prospect not to mention.