Stranger Things alum Dacre Montgomery revealed that he would be willing to join the MCU, provided the role met one condition. Montgomery is best known to general audiences for his work as Billy Hargrove in the hit series Stranger Things. In the time since his appearance on the acclaimed Netflix show (which will come to an end before the calendar flips to 2026), the 31-year-old's star has ascended.
He has leveraged this star power on projects like 2022's Elvis, as well as the 2024 psychological drama Went Up That Hill. However, one thing he has not done since his Stranger Things tenure came to a bloody and brutal end is attach himself to another major franchise, such as the MCU. That has not stopped the actor from thinking about it, though.
In an exclusive conversation with The Direct while promoting his latest project, Dead Man's Wire, Montgomery admitted that he is open to appearing in a franchise on the scale of the MCU, albeit with one pretty big caveat. "I would be interested in doing anything depending on the director," the former Stranger Things star admitted:
The Direct: "Superheroes are on a little bit of a comeback recently with the MCU and the DCU. I was just curious, are there any characters — heroes or villains — that you would love to play eventually, hypothetically?"
Dacre Montgomery: "It's a good question. I feel like even though they're having a comeback, I feel like there's a bit of general kind of fatigue around the whole superhero genre, in a way. And I think, really, for me — and hopefully this answers your question — I think it's more about director. Like, I would be interested in doing anything depending on the director."
He went on to praise comic book directors like Zack Snyder and Taika Waititi:
And I think there's really, really great directors in the superhero space, Zack Snyder being one of my favorite to do amazing stuff with the superhero genre. I just think a hard-R rating, something rougher around the edges, and the thing that first comes to mind when I mentioned that in the superhero subgenre is 'Watchmen.' 'Watchmen' was one of my favorite films. I like how intense and violent and gritty and noir it is. And I think something like that is really interesting, and kind of anything that's going to subvert expectations beyond the genre. Like the stuff Taika Waititi was doing early on with the 'Thor' franchise."
"[A] director that's come in that's changed the face of the superhero subgenre," is something that interests Montgomery, he remarked, adding that he likes seeing "different ideas or different perspectives on the way it should be done:"
"Every director that's come in that's changed the face of the superhero subgenre are directors that have different ideas or different perspectives on the way it should be done. And I think that's really what is the most interesting thing to me about that in that genre now, especially now that it's been so overdone with so many films."
Montgomery's name has been thrown around in superhero circles for years. The former Stranger Things star was a popular fan pick for Johnny Storm in the MCU's recently rebooted take on The Fantastic Four. That role ultimately went to Joseph Quinn, who is similarly of Stranger Things fame.
His name has also been mentioned in speculative conversations about the eventual MCU X-Men revival, with some fans calling for him to play Wolverine after Hugh Jackman's departure from the franchise.
Montgomery's Dead Man's Wire comes to theaters on January 9, 2026. The new historical thriller from director Gus Van Sant follows Montgomery as Richard Hall, a mortgage broker in the 1970s, who was taken hostage by a local criminal and rigged to a sawed-off shotgun with a 'dead man's wire.'
Who Could Dacre Montgomery Play in the MCU?
With an actor saying they would be open to coming over to the MCU, there is always the question of: who could this person play in the super-powered franchise? Luckily, for Dacre Montgomery, fans have been trying to find a place for him in Marvel's on-screen canon for years now.
Of course, names like Johnny Storm (who has now already been cast in the MCU) and Wolverine get thrown around for the actor all the time. His work as Billy on Stranger Things demonstrated that he possesses both the recklessness and the wily gruffness necessary to bring either of those characters to life faithfully.
However, let's consider some lesser-known characters that the fan-favorite star could bring to life in the MCU.
One name who seems perfect for the actor is Scott Summers (aka Cyclops). Thus far in the X-Men films, Scott has been portrayed as nothing more than a pencil-pushing, by-the-book leader of the mutant team (sorry, James Marsden). However, rumors have been circulating that Marvel Studios may take a different approach to the character with its upcoming reboot.
Cyclops could be an opportunity for Montgomery to show off a different side of his acting ability, leading the MCU's X-Men while adding a bit of a badass edge to the character that fans have been begging for for decades.
Another name he could fit perfectly into is the space-faring Nova (aka Richard Rider). If you want to talk cosmic comic book badasses, there are few as cool as the superhuman Nova Corps operative.
A Nova-centric project remains off the official MCU slate, but if Marvel Studios ever gets there, it could make quite the splash with someone like Montgomery.
