Some actors can portray certain types of characters so well that they are constantly cast in similar roles throughout different films. Some prominent action star examples include Tom Cruise, Jason Statham, and Mark Wahlberg, who have starred as the lead in many action movies.
However, seeing as though comic book movies today tend to fall within their own cinematic universes, it's not often that actors will be cast as multiple superheroes or villains after establishing themselves as a particular character. It has happened in the past (Chris Evans as both the Human Torch and Captain America, and Christian Bale as Batman and Gorr the God Butcher), but as of most recently, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is starring, once again, as a live-action comic book character.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson started his superhero career in 2010, continuing through the early 2010s before pursuing other roles. Coming in 2024, though, Taylor-Johnson will make his return to the comic book world, making his third super-human appearance in a third new cinematic universe.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson Starred in Kick-Ass and Kick-Ass 2
At 20 years old, Taylor-Johnson began his superhero career as the nerdy, pushover high-schooler Dave Lizewski in the 2010 film Kick-Ass. The movie is adapted from a comic book series from Image Comics (although originally published by Marvel) written by Mark Millar.
In the film, Dave is fed up with the New York City criminals and decides to adopt a superhero alter ego. But, he has no powers and gets beat up pretty bad by a couple of car thieves, resulting in him getting stabbed and hit by a car. After receiving life-saving surgery, he's left with metal plates placed around his body and his nerve endings being so damaged that his pain tolerance skyrockets. Where some might take this as a sign to let go of the crime-fighting vigilantism, Dave sees it as an opportunity that gives him an advantage over his enemies, and he decides to call himself Kick-Ass.
Unlike the typical superhero, Kick-Ass finds himself in situations in which he has to actually kill criminals instead of just beating them up, especially after teaming up with Big Daddy and Hit-Girl. In the first film, he battles against the mob, led by the ruthless Frank D'Amico. After defeating him and his crime organization, Frank's son Chris, aka the Red Mist, seeks vengeance against Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl in the sequel film, and forms his own army of villains in response to the city's uprising of supers, dubbed "Justice Forever".
Kick-Ass is one of the few comic book films that is outside both Marvel and DC. But after playing the lead role so well, it wasn't long before Taylor-Johnson was picked up by one of the big name comic book franchises to play a popular character.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson Appeared in the MCU as Pietro Maximoff
In 2015, Taylor-Johnson returned to the big screen sporting a super costume in the film Avengers: Age of Ultron. In his first MCU appearance, Taylor-Johnson played Pietro Maximoff, aka, Quicksilver, who was a test subject of Hydra leader Wolfgang von Strucker.
Pietro and his twin sister Wanda (eventually the Scarlet Witch) were imprisoned by Strucker and experimented on using Loki's scepter which contained the mind stone. The experiments resulted in Wanda developing telekinetic powers and Pietro gaining super speed. Although freed by the Avengers in the beginning of the film, the twins have a personal vendetta on Tony Stark, who's military-grade weapons took their parents' lives. So initially, they decide to work with Ultron to take down the Avengers.
However, after discovering Ultron's plans expanded past the Avengers and focused more on worldwide destruction, they abandon the AI super villain and find themselves working with the heroes to stop Ultron. Quicksilver then plays a huge role in the film, becoming a major asset to the Avengers both by helping them fight Ultron and saving the people of Sokovia. Sadly, it's his first and last appearance in the MCU (not including the post-credit scene from Captain America: The Winter Soldier or Quicksilver's return in WandaVision, played by Evan Peters) after he selflessly sacrifices himself to save Hawkeye and a child he's protecting.
Quicksilver is a criminally underrated character in the MCU as portrayed by Taylor-Johnson, being a hero who has awesome powers and a tragic origin and heartbreaking ending, resulting in a full character arc that speaks to what it means to be a true hero and, unofficially, an Avenger.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson Will Star as Kraven the Hunter
In 2024, after nine years of not being a super, Taylor-Johnson will return as Kraven the Hunter in the upcoming Marvel film of the same name. Although a Marvel movie, the film is technically a part of Sony's Spider-Man Universe. Other films in this universe include the Spider-Man Home series, Venom, and Morbius. The lines are a bit blurred as to where the MCU ends and the Sony universe begins, seeing as though both Spider-Man and Venom have played roles in the MCU. Nevertheless, Taylor-Johnson will find himself in his third distinct cinematic universe.
Kraven the Hunter will follow Taylor-Johnson as the lead, a Russian boy who develops a genetic connection with animals after being attacked by a lion. In the comics, Kraven is primarily a Spider-Man villain, but it's too early to say that he will eventually be affiliated with Tom Holland's Spider-Man (although the trailer reveals The Rhino as being a character). Interestingly, Taylor-Johnson will also be joined by another returning Marvel actor, Russell Crowe, who plays both Kraven's father, as well as Zeus from Thor: Love and Thunder.
Although Taylor-Johnson has taken three separate super identities, each of his heroes are completely unique from each other. Kick-Ass is the underdog, rebellious teenager who is, in some ways, a mix of the vengeful Deadpool and the neighborhood vigilante Spider-Man. Quicksilver is the mutant test subject whose mission is to protect his family. And Kraven the Hunter simply wants to hunt the evil of the world and prove himself a worthy hunter to his father.