Denzel Washington in the MCU

Word on the social media streets is that the people at Marvel/Disney were looking to cast Hollywood legend, Denzel Washington as Magneto in the upcoming X-Men reboot whenever that happens for Disney.  Of course, the Internet being what it is, had thousands of hot takes from people loving the idea and people loathing the idea.  Like most things, reality often lies in the middle and no matter which side you fall on, the only certain thing is that Denzel would instantly be the best actor the MCU has seen in whatever role he takes.

Those who oppose Denzel as Magneto cite Magneto's history as a Holocaust survivor and his Judaism.  And yes, those are important aspects to the character of Magneto and helped shaped his view on the conflict between humans and mutants.  However, you could manipulate that history and make him a survivor of a multitude of atrocities and still have him have that negative view towards humanity.  Its often funny that comic book fans only want to stick strictly to the comics when the character is white and is looking to be gender or race bent to fit into a movie.  I mean honestly, who could Disney/Marvel find that would be a better actor than Denzel Washington?  He would bring instant credibility to a role and character that demands the actor playing have a certain gravitas.

Those who are for the casting cite the correlation between the Civil Rights movement and the differences between Martin Luther King and Malcom X and how their differences often parallel the differences between Erik and Charles.  There have been conflicting reports on how Stan Lee based those Magneto and Charles on MLK and Malcom X but regardless of that, having a Black actor play off against a white actor where race is central to the story, would be fascinating.... and this is probably why it wont happen.

Look, Disney knows that fans are chomping at the bit to get a solid X-Men movie.  No matter how you feel about the Fox movies, even the good ones are a bit lacking in certain areas.  Its probably why Marvel/Disney has taken their time with rolling out any information about the mutants and X-Men because they know if they do this correctly, they are looking at making Avengers money.  And that is the reason they wont take this huge leap and cast Denzel as Magneto.  Its not because hes not a great actor or they couldn't craft a story around him playing Magneto, its that they do not want to court the controversy of doing it.  Call  them scared or call them bold, Disney is not going to mess with this money train as they look to recoup all the money they paid for these Fox properties.

So, no Denzel Washington as Magneto in my humble opinion.  I hope I am wrong because it would set social media on fire when they announced and I love watching the world burn.

If not Magneto, who would you like to see Denzel play in the MCU... and don't say Blue Marvel!!!

The Producer