Idris Elba Played Two Completely Different Marvel Characters In The Same Year

At this point, it's nothing new for Marvel movies to double-book cast members for totally different roles and expect us all to be totally cool with it. Back when the House of Ideas was stretched out more like a super-powered suburb, one star that had spread his talents all over was Idris Elba, who at this point was both watching the doorway for Asgard in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and fighting evil forces alongside Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage), who was going another lap as hell on wheels.

Both films hit theaters in 2011, when the world was just getting to know Chris Hemsworth as the thunder from down under and the MCU was still in its infancy. Joining him was Elba as Heimdall, protector of the Bifrost, and like many characters in Thor's corner of the franchise, grossly underused. Fans of "The Wire" star didn't have to remain too disappointed they weren't getting enough of him in a comic book movie, though, as he was also turning up the heat in "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" which marked Cage's return as the second Johnny in the Marvel universe who could set himself on fire. Elba played an alcoholic monk named Moreau and took it upon himself to apply an interesting detail to his character that created an unofficial connection between the two Marvel characters he was playing.

Actors often throw in some of their creative flair for their character's look, and in the case of Moreau, Elba deemed it wise to add a sprinkle of something extra with his "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" character that would hark back to Heimdall. In the movie, his character has bright, almost orange eyes that match those of his all-seeing Asgardian, which is precisely what Elba intended. "Yeah, it was my idea, because it didn't make sense that I would play in another Marvel film as a different character completely," he explained to Cinema Blend. "So I said, how about this, we'll just make them related. Additionally, Moreau, in the script, is described as someone who can see into someone's soul. I didn't want to do acting like this [He makes some serious crazy eyes], so the eyes became the solution."

It's certainly made for an interesting coincidence that both characters had powers linked to their almost hypnotic peepers, which fans picked up on as soon as they got a look at Elba's character. Unfortunately, his stint in "Spirit of Vengeance" didn't last long as Moreau is killed in the movie. As for Heimdall, he thankfully got a longer run in the MCU, taking five films (admittedly, one that he Elba regretted making) before he was killed in "Avengers: Infinity War" and even getting a cameo in "Thor: Love and Thunder." Here's hoping that now that Elba is in the DC Universe, he makes a comeback as "The Suicide Squad" member, Bloodsport, and gets a longer run at living.