Emilia Clarke Joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe 1 Year After Calling ‘The Avengers’ ‘Stupid’ and ‘Silly’
Emilia Clarke became an A-list actor thanks to her eight-season run on Game of Thrones. Despite her extensive acting resume, she’s never appeared in a superhero movie.
That’s about to change, though, as the four-time Emmy nominee is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The news comes one year after Clarke called The Avengers “stupid” and “silly.”
Emila Clarke laughed at the idea of of joining the MCU
In the spring of 2020, Clarke sat down with The Sunday Times to talk about her career post-Game of Thrones. At the time, she was starring in the West End production of Chekhov’s The Seagull.
Despite starring on GOT and being part of the Star Wars and Terminator franchises, Clarke said she primarily sees herself as a stage actress. The thought of joining the MCU made her laugh, and it was something she’d only consider doing for fun.
“I think, if I did, it would be me having a giggle,” Clarke said. “I want to do something absolutely stupid and silly, like, you know, The Avengers or whatever. Something where I got to have a giggle with mates.”
The ‘Game of Thrones’ star was almost in ‘Iron Man 3’
Iron Man 3 co-writer Drew Pearce says that Clarke had the chance to join the MCU almost a decade ago. Pearce once shared a photo of a name card from an early 2012 table read for Iron Man 3.
In the photo of his Instagram post, Pearce revealed that he was reading the part of JARVIS. As fans know, that was the role Paul Bettany played before he became Vision.
But the biggest reveal came in the caption. Pearce said that Clarke sat in for the table read. He also gave a short explanation as to why she never appeared in the film.
Drew Pearce thought Emilia Clarke was ‘great’
In the caption, Pearce also wrote that he was intimidated sitting next to big names like Clarke, Robert Downey Jr., and Don Cheadle.
“My finest hour: at an early Iron Man Three table read,” Pearce wrote. “Downey, Cheadle, Emilia Clarke (long story, the script changed)… all vaguely terrifying. Obviously this was in 2012 when everyone was more racist and thought all British people sounded the same. Still, belated apologies to @paulbettany and I hope I didn’t let him down.”
He later gave an update, telling his followers that when you do early table reads, a lot of the new roles aren’t cast yet. He also pointed out that Clarke was just one year into Game of Thrones at the time, and she “was great.”
Emilia Clarke is joining the MCU
According to Variety, Clarke is officially joining the MCU and will star in the Disney+ series Secret Invasion. She’s reportedly in final negotiations for a role that is still a secret.
Clarke will join confirmed cast members Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Ben Mendelsohn (Talos), Olivia Coleman (unknown role), and Kingsley Ben-Adir (unknown villain).
The Emmy nominee is just the latest Game of Thrones alumnus to join the MCU. Her co-stars Kit Harington and Richard Madden will both appear in Eternals when it hits theaters in November.
What will ‘Secret Invasion’ be about?
Marvel announced last year that Secret Invasion was in development. The series will reportedly follow The Skrulls, a group of green shape-shifting aliens who have been infiltrating Earth for years.
Kyle Bradstreet is the executive producer and head writer of the series. Marvel studios and boss Kevin Feige will be producing the series for Disney+, just like they’ve done with WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Marvel has not announced a premiere date for Secret Invasion. Game of Thrones seasons 1 through 8 are available on HBO Max.
