It's a well-known fact that Marvel Studios has a massive slate of projects planned for the next couple of years, which includes both TV shows on Disney+ and new properties acquired in the 2019 merger with 20th Century Fox. Even with more than two dozen confirmed projects ushering in a new era for the MCU, remnants of the studio's past practises still seem to be peaking through.
One of those is Marvel TV's last big non-canonical entry, the animated MODOK series, which has ten episodes set to arrive on Hulu on May 21. Along with top comedic actors like Melissa Fumero and Ben Schwartz, long-time comic fan Patton Oswalt will take on the leading role as he plays the disembodied robotic floating head taken straight from Marvel Comics.
As it turns out, Oswalt doesn't want to have MODOK limited to the world of animation either.
PATTON OSWALT TALKS MODOK
In a recent interview with Comicbook.com, MODOK star Patton Oswalt took some time to dive into his excitement for the Marvel project.
Specifically, Oswalt explored the possibility of bringing the supervillain into a live-action sphere with the right opportunity. Touching on "the stuff that [studios are] doing now...with animation and combining animation and live-action," Oswalt thinks it would be "amazing" to give that same treatment to his animated leading character:
"Especially with the stuff that they're doing now with, with animation and combining animation and live-action, it just gets better and better every movie. The idea of creating this thing doing it live-action with a, you know, either taking someone's face and changing it or just, absolutely [I think it could work.] And it would even be more amazing if you do a combination of animation and practical, like build the suit build the chair and have that be part of it so that there's that feeling of solidity there I think would be amazing."
Oswalt fantasized about the possibility of playing MODOK himself if and when he is brought into the MCU, saying he "would love it" if he got the call from Marvel CCO Kevin Feige. He even got his signature sense of humor in by joking that it'd be "an acting job where [he gets] to sit down the whole time" for the role:
"Are you kidding? That'd be freaking awesome if we played MODOK live action. Oh my God. I would love it... Plus it's an acting job where I get to sit down the whole time. Are you kidding? I'd love that."
COUNT OSWALT IN FOR THE MCU
MODOK is undoubtedly one of the strangest villains from Marvel Comics largely due to his stature as a floating head with robotic appendages, but he could certainly be a formidable foe should he be brought into the live-action arena. Should that happen in the MCU's future, it's clear that Patton Oswalt is no more than a phone call away if Feige and crew want him to play the role.
Before taking on this voice-acting gig, Oswalt shined with Marvel by playing five different parts in ABC's Agents of SHIELD, this included the four Koenig brothers as well their grandfather, Ernest Hazard Koenig. Oswalt's passion for Marvel content continues into MODOK, and he's spoken out about his love for the comics and movies on numerous occasions.
It's hard to pinpoint where a live-action MODOK would fit into the MCU currently, but Feige and co. won't count out any of their options. Particularly with having an actor like Oswalt who cares so much about the material, it will hopefully only be a matter of time before this dream casting becomes a reality.
MODOK will premiere on Hulu on May 21.
