Marvel Studios has cast its next major supervillain after Doctor Doom, and the actor comes from the Star Wars franchise. This marks the sixth time the MCU has handed a Star Wars alum a major antagonist. The galaxy far, far away attracted some of the most talented movie stars in Hollywood over the years, so it is no surprise the MCU picks from that talent pool. Many of the Star Wars actors Marvel has cast, including its latest, have played the most compelling villains that franchise has to offer.
Adam Driver was unveiled as Mister Sinister, the villain of Marvel's X-Men reboot at Disney's D23 Expo on August 14. Appearing via a surprise video message, Driver introduced his character as Nathaniel Milbury, the longtime civilian alias of Nathaniel Essex, better known to comic readers as Mister Sinister. He even trolled the rumor mill first, announcing he was "very excited to be playing the role of Maaagneto" before correcting himself.
In the Star Wars franchise, Driver played Ben Solo, better known as Kylo Ren. He portrayed the villain for four years, debuting in the very first Star Wars film of the Disney era, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In that movie, his character massacred an entire village on Jakku and later killed his own father, Han Solo.
The Force Awakens introduced audiences to Kylo Ren's ruthlessness, and he returned in Star Wars: The Last Jedi as a far more conflicted antagonist. His final appearance came in the sequel trilogy's closer, The Rise of Skywalker, where his redemption arc came full circle, and he sacrificed himself to save Rey. Driver's take on Nathaniel Essex is expected to be every bit as complex, if not more so, than his Kylo Ren.
Other Star Wars Actors Who Have Portrayed MCU Villains
Mads Mikkelsen
Mads Mikkelsen is one of the most talented actors of his generation, and his ability shone brightly when he pulled off a rare double duty in a single year for Marvel and Star Wars. He played Galen Erso, the conflicted scientist forced to build the Death Star, in 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. That same year, he starred as Kaecilius, the main villain of Marvel Studios' Doctor Strange.
Kaecilius was a former Master of the Mystic Arts who turned against the Ancient One. He sought to merge Earth with the Dark Dimension and hand the planet over to the cosmic entity Dormammu, believing it would free humanity from time and death. Mikkelsen brought the trademark menace he popularized as Hannibal Lecter in NBC's Hannibal to the role. His cracked, darkened eyes, a side effect of drawing power from the Dark Dimension, made for a frightening look. Kaecilius ultimately got the eternal life he craved in the worst way possible, transformed into a Mindless One and pulled into the Dark Dimension for eternity. He never returned, but he remains one of the MCU's best villains.
Andy Serkis
Andy Serkis' place in Star Wars history is a fascinating and unique one. He first portrayed Supreme Leader Snoke, the head of the shadowy First Order in The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi.
Serkis later returned to the franchise as the imprisoned rebel Kino Loy in the Disney+ series Andor. His character's admission that he cannot swim, delivered as the prisoners made their escape with Cassian Andor, became one of the most iconic scenes in modern Star Wars.
In the MCU, Serkis played the unhinged arms dealer Ulysses Klaue. He first appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron, where Ultron sliced off his arm. Serkis returned with a much bigger role in Black Panther, where Klaue's stolen vibranium and his history with Wakanda drove much of the plot. Klaue was ultimately killed by Killmonger, but Serkis' gleefully chaotic performance made the character a fan favorite.
Jude Law
Jude Law's foray into Star Wars saw him play the villainous Jod Na Nawood, a Force-sensitive pirate with a long list of aliases, in the Disney+ series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. The character proved unpredictable, using a charming demeanor to make his targets drop their guard.
Years earlier, the MCU had already tapped Law's ability to play deceptive characters. He portrayed Yon-Rogg, the Kree commander who trained Carol Danvers and acted as her mentor in Captain Marvel. The film's big twist revealed Yon-Rogg as the true villain. He killed Mar-Vell, took Carol from Earth, and wiped her memory to weaponize her powers for the Kree Empire.
Law played the part with just the right amount of smug superiority, and although Yon-Rogg survived the movie, Marvel has sadly not used the character since.
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is Star Wars royalty. He played Han Solo for decades, appearing in five films from the original trilogy to the sequel era, where the smuggler died in The Force Awakens and later returned in The Rise of Skywalker, not as a Force ghost, but as a memory conjured in his son's mind.
Ford joined the MCU as Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross in Captain America: Brave New World, taking over the role after the untimely passing of William Hurt. In that film, Ross, who first appeared in The Incredible Hulk, ascended to the presidency of the United States. It also gave him his long-awaited transformation into the Red Hulk, fueled by gamma-laced pills secretly fed to him by Samuel Sterns, the Leader.
Ford did his own motion capture work for the Red Hulk scenes, which included a destructive rampage through Washington, D.C., and a brawl with Anthony Mackie's Captain America outside the White House. By the film's end, Ross was imprisoned in the Raft, and it remains unclear if Marvel will bring the Red Hulk back given how much Brave New World underperformed.
David Tennant
David Tennant's Star Wars role came in The Clone Wars in 2012, when he voiced the fan-favorite droid Huyang, a performance that earned him a Daytime Emmy Award. He reprised the role in the live-action series Ahsoka and is set to return in Season 2, which premieres in 2027.
On the Marvel side, Tennant delivered one of the most chilling villain performances in any Marvel project. He played Kilgrave, the mind-controlling tormentor in Jessica Jones. The character is known as the Purple Man in the comics, and Tennant's live-action embodiment was remarkable, though the series didn’t adapt the purple appearance. His ability to force anyone to obey his every word made him terrifying, a worthy adversary to Krysten Ritter's Jessica Jones. That show and the other Marvel Netflix series of the Defenders saga have since been folded into MCU canon, automatically making Tennant part of the franchise's mainline continuity.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
