10 MCU Characters Meryl Streep Would Be Perfect For After Marvel Casting Director Comments

Marvel Studios’ Casting Director Sarah Halley Finn is confident an MCU role can be found for Meryl Streep, and there are many brilliant Marvel Comics characters that the Hollywood legend would be perfect for. Meryl Streep’s almost-five-decade acting career has seen her be lauded as one of, if not the, best actors of her generation, so the possibility of her joining the MCU is incredibly exciting. Meryl Streep’s versatility has seen her star in comedies, dramas, thrillers and science fiction epics, so she is perfectly primed for a role in a superhero franchise.

Speaking to Variety at Agatha All Along’s premiere event in September 2024, Marvel Studios’ Casting Director Sarah Halley Finn noted that Meryl Streep is the actor who she hasn’t yet cast in the MCU but who she desperately wants. She notes that Streep could play “anything she wants,” and suggests that there may have already been conversations between Marvel and Streep about her joining the MCU. While Finn states they haven’t found the right role, there are many characters in Marvel Comics that Meryl Streep would excel at delivering in the MCU.

10 Cassandra Nova

Emma Corrin Debuted As A Variant Of Cassandra Nova In Deadpool & Wolverine

In comparison to her Marvel Comics’ counterpart, Deadpool & Wolverine’s Cassandra Nova was much cleaner, sleeker and more put-together. In the comics, Cassandra Nova, the dark shadow of Charles Xavier, is much more disheveled, and usually depicted as an older character, but this makes her even more terrifying. Emma Corrin did an incredible job at bringing the haunting and mysterious villain into live-action for the first time ever, but Meryl Streep could be the perfect choice to introduce a more comic-accurate interpretation.

Related 1 BTS Deadpool & Wolverine Reveal Changes How You Look At Its Villain In The Best Way

Emma Corrin’s Cassandra Nova is one of the MCU’s most sinister villains, and one behind the scenes detail makes her even more haunting and memorable.

This could work as Deadpool & Wolverine’s Cassandra Nova is presumably not the version of the villain from the MCU’s Earth-616. It is implied that this version of Nova is the “sister” to James McAvoy’s Professor X, though her home reality has not been confirmed. Meryl Streep has the talent to exhibit the sinister and scheming version of Cassandra Nova from Earth-616, perhaps being introduced after Avengers: Secret Wars. This may allow Marvel Studios to bring iconic stories such as the Genosha genocide into live-action, with Streep’s commanding and intimidating Cassandra Nova at the center.

9 Veranke

Veranke’s Debut Could Tease An Honest-To-Goodness Secret Invasion

Veranke was the Queen of the Skrulls in Marvel Comics, and the leader of the Skrull invasion of Earth during 2008’s Secret Invasion storyline. Veranke infiltrated the Avengers by disguising herself as Jessica Drew’s Spider-Woman, and used Drew’s influence to weaken Earth’s Mightiest Heroes from within. Marvel Studios’ Secret Invasion series omitted Veranke completely, instead having Kingsley Ben-Adir’s Gravik lead the Skrull rebellion, but this means that the comics’ Secret Invasion could still be adapted more faithfully, so Veranke’s debut could be imminent.

Marvel Studios’
Secret Invasion
became one of the MCU’s lowest-rated projects, and has been all but ignored in subsequent projects, but there have been calls for a more faithful adaptation of
Secret Invasion
in the MCU’s future.

Meryl Streep would excel as the Skrull Queen, and there may be few MCU roles more suitable to the Hollywood icon than that of literal royalty. Being cast as Veranke would give Streep the full MCU treatment, as she would get made-up as a Skrull, get to invade Earth, fight the Avengers, and presumably meet her demise. In Marvel Comics, Veranke is killed by Norman Osborn, kick-starting his Dark Reign, and this could be a fantastic avenue for Marvel Studios to follow in live-action.

8 Lilith, Mother Of All Demons

Lilith Is A Rumored Antagonist Of The MCU’s Blade Movie

In recent years, there have been several teases in the MCU towards the formation of the supernatural superhero team, the Midnight Sons. One of the Midnight Sons’ most notable adversaries in Marvel Comics is Lilith, Mother of All Demons, so it would be fantastic to see Meryl Streep debut as this formidable, dark and dangerous supervillain. This could see Streep make her first appearance in Marvel Studios’ troubled Blade reboot, as Lilith has been a rumored villain opposite Mahershala Ali’s Daywalker for quite some time.

Meryl Streep has the screen presence to bring this powerful figure to life.

Marvel Studios’ recent focus on the supernatural and magical worlds of the MCU, particularly in projects such as WandaVision, Werewolf by Night, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Agatha All Along, perhaps creates the perfect opportunity for Lilith’s live-action debut. Meryl Streep has the screen presence to bring this powerful figure to life, and there’s no doubt she would deliver a captivating and magnetic performance. With Streep in this role, Lilith could become one of the most recognized and terrifying villains in the MCU’s history.

7 Agatha Harkness Variant

Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness Is Very Different From Her Marvel Comics Counterpart

Kathryn Hahn’s depiction of original Salem witch Agatha Harkness has been hugely celebrated. Hahn’s performances in WandaVision and Agatha All Along are second-to-none, but her version of the villain is far removed from the character’s depiction in Marvel Comics. While Agatha Harkness has become significantly younger in recent Marvel Comics stories, she started out as an elderly witch, governess to the Fantastic Four and mentor to the Scarlet Witch. This version of the character would be perfect to bring Meryl Streep into the MCU.

Related When Agatha All Along Takes Place In The MCU Timeline

Agatha All Along naturally takes place after WandaVision as its sequel, but the first episode has confirmed where exactly the series falls in the MCU.

The Multiverse Saga creates the opportunity for a variant of Agatha Harkness to appear alongside Kathryn Hahn’s version. Since she looks after Franklin Richards, the son of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, in Marvel Comics, it’s possible that this more comic-accurate Agatha Harkness could debut in 2025’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is set in an alternate universe. Meryl Streep would be an inspired casting choice as Agatha Harkness, given her caring and gentle qualities, but also her ability to demonstrate sheer power, which this iconic witch is best known for.

6 Valerie Vector, A.K.A. Voyager

Valerie Vector Could Develop The MCU’s Elders Of The Universe

Interestingly, Valerie Vector’s debut in the MCU was actually set up back in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok. Originally known as Va Nee Gast, a.k.a. Voyager, Vector was initially presented as a lost member of the Avengers, but was later revealed to be the daughter of the Grandmaster, and one of the Elders of the Universe. Jeff Goldblum debuted as the Grandmaster in Ragnarok, and seeing him and Meryl Streep perform together as the strange coupling of father and daughter would simply be phenomenal.

Taneleer Tivan’s Collector and Ego the Living Planet, among many others, are also Elders of the Universe.

Marvel Studios has set up several members of the Elders of the Universe in the MCU, but the species has never actually been referred to by name, and has seen very little development. Alongside the Grandmaster, Taneleer Tivan’s Collector and Ego the Living Planet, among many others, are also Elders of the Universe in Marvel Comics. Meryl Streep’s introduction to the MCU would be the perfect vehicle to develop this mysterious species much further, which could perhaps take place in the as-yet-unannounced Thor 5.

5 Hera

Thor: Love & Thunder Set Up Hera’s Debut Perfectly

While Thor: Ragnarok may have set up Meryl Streep’s debut as an Elder of the Universe, 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder could have introduced the perfect way for her to appear as a powerful goddess, a role fit for the Hollywood legend. Love and Thunder saw Russell Crowe make his first MCU appearance as Zeus, the King of the Gods in Omnipotence City, and, in Marvel Comics, Zeus is married to Hera. This would be an incredible role for Meryl Streep, particularly given her strong friendship with Russell Crowe.

Thor: Love and Thunder
introduced many new Gods to the MCU as the citizens of Omnipotence City, including Dionysus, Quetzalcoatl, Bao, Bast and the Old Kronan God, among many others.

Hera’s age-old feud with Hercules in Marvel Comics would be incredible to see in the live-action MCU following Brett Goldstein’s debut as the god in Thor: Love and Thunder’s post-credits scene. This could set up Meryl Streep’s Hera as the villain for Thor 5, which could see Hercules and Chris Hemsworth’s Thor band together to take on the twisted Olympian. Hera would be a formidable role for Streep, and wouldn’t need to be action-heavy, allowing her to be more of a master of manipulation than a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, which would surely benefit Streep.

4 Lady Death

Lady Death Has Connections To Several Notable MCU Characters

Death, otherwise known as Lady or Mistress Death, is one of the most powerful and notable beings in the Marvel Universe, a cosmic entity personifying death itself. With an incomprehensible level of power, Lady Death would be a huge character for Meryl Streep to bring to the MCU, and she could become one of the most consistent and harrowing characters the franchise has ever seen. This would be especially brilliant as Death is connected to many notable characters in Marvel Comics, which could allow Streep to appear in several upcoming MCU projects.

Related Infinity War: Why The Original Thanos Lady Death Plan Changed

Like in the comics, Thanos’ original MCU motivation was to court Lady Death as hinted in The Avengers but Avengers: Infinity War changed it — why?

Most notably, Lady Death is the subject of Thanos’ obsession and love, which culminates in him collecting the Infinity Stones and wiping out half the universe’s population in an effort to woo her. Thanos has recently been teased to return to the MCU, so Meryl Streep appearing as Death would make a lot of sense. Death also has a brief relationship with Deadpool, who can’t die, and even inserts herself into several Spider-Man stories in Marvel Comics. This creates some huge opportunities for Meryl Streep, who would be an inspired choice for this insanely powerful character.

3 Ophelia Sarkissian, A.K.A. Madame Hydra

A Version Of Madame Hydra May Already Be In The MCU

Ophelia Sarkissian is usually depicted as a younger woman than Meryl Streep, but with a rich backstory as the villainous Viper, it would make sense for Streep to portray the character as a seasoned Madame Hydra. This would perhaps be in opposition to Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, who also becomes Madame Hydra in Marvel Comics, though has shown no affiliation to HYDRA in the MCU. HYDRA has been noticeably missing from the MCU for several years, and Meryl Streep may be the perfect actor to revive the sinister organization.

Madame Hydra could be introduced as a major threat in future
Captain America
sequels.

With Meryl Streep’s Madame Hydra on the throne, HYDRA would surely come back to the MCU with a bang. Streep could deliver a powerful performance as the mastermind behind HYDRA, tapping into her more dramatic skillset to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Hugo Weaving’s Red Skull and Robert Redford’s Alexander Pierce. Madame Hydra could be introduced as a major threat in future Captain America sequels after 2025’s Brave New World, connecting Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson to Captain America’s MCU history.

2 Infinity

Thor: Love & Thunder Debuted Infinity’s Male Counterpart, Eternity

While Thor: Love and Thunder may have set up the opportunity for Meryl Streep to appear as Zeus’ wife, Hera, the 2022 movie also marked the MCU debut of one of the most powerful and recognizable beings in Marvel Comics, Eternity. Usually depicted as a male, Eternity’s female counterpart is Infinity, and Meryl Streep would be a supreme casting choice for this formidable cosmic entity. While Eternity is the personification of time, Infinity represents space, and her connection to the Quantum Bands in Marvel Comics means her MCU debut may be imminent.

Related Thor: Love & Thunder Wasted Multiverse Of Madness’ Best Potential Character

Eternity was featured in Phase 4’s divisive Thor: Love & Thunder, but the cosmic entity might have been better suited in a different MCU project.

Kamala Khan’s bangle was revealed to be one of the Quantum Bands in 2023’s The Marvels, and it is Infinity in the comics who provides the Bands with their power. This means that a possible Ms. Marvel season 2, Young Avengers movie or Captain Marvel 3 could introduce Infinity to the MCU, and it will be hard to find an actor capable enough to deliver the presence, command and captivating nature of a cosmic entity on the level of Infinity than Meryl Streep. In fact, there may only be one Marvel character better suited to the actor.

1 Cassandra Webb A.K.A. Madame Web

Madame Web May Be Reinvented In The MCU After Sony’s Failure

That is Madame Web. Similarly to Agatha Harkness, Cassandra Webb was recently introduced to live-action as a much younger woman than her Marvel Comics counterpart, but what worked for Agatha did not for Cassandra. Dakota Johnson’s version of the Spider-Man ally in 2024’s Madame Web, part of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, was a laughable disappointment. The character would be better by being far more comic-accurate, depicted as an elderly mentor and clairvoyant ally to Spider-Man, and Meryl Streep fits the brief perfectly.

Madame Web
is the lowest-scored Sony Spider-Man Universe on Rotten Tomatoes, with a critics score of 11%, falling behind
Morbius’
15%. Both projects were written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless.

Old enough to be comic-accurate, but still active and spry enough to deliver the more physical touches of Madame Web, Meryl Streep would be an inspired casting choice. The character could be reinvented in the MCU’s main continuity, completely separate to Sony’s iteration, and given Madame Web’s role in Marvel Comics’ multiverse events, it would make sense for her to have a role in Spider-Man 4 and beyond. While Meryl Streep would be perfect for this role, Sarah Halley Finn’s comments suggest it won’t be long before we know who she’ll actually be playing in the MCU.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a multimedia superhero franchise that began in 2008 with Paramount’s Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. The franchise quickly grew in popularity, with Disney eventually buying out Marvel Entertainment in 2009. The MCU consists of dozens of movies and TV shows, most notably Avengers: Endgame, WandaVision, and Loki.

Created by Kevin Feige Upcoming Films Deadpool & Wolverine , Captain America: Brave New World , Thunderbolts (2025) , Blade (2025) , The Fantastic Four (2025) , Avengers: Doomsday (2026) , Avengers: Secret Wars Upcoming TV Shows Agatha: Coven of Chaos , Ironheart , Daredevil: Born Again , Wakanda , Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man , Marvel Zombies , Wonder Man , Vision Quest