Spider-Man Villain’s Live-action Debut Could Pose One Big Challenge For Marvel if Rumors Turn Out to be True
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been leading the comic book adaptations through its complex plot and almost endless possibilities in terms of character and storylines. However, after the success of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, one character has attracted more attention than others, which is Miguel O’Hara, aka Spider-Man 2099.
Voiced by Oscar Isaac in the animated film, the viewers got connected to this variant of the webslinger from Across the Spider-Verse. Isaac’s portrayal of the character was heavily praised, and viewers now want to see him in live-action. However, this transition won’t be as easy as it seems for Marvel Studios.
Oscar Isaac’s Dilemma of Portraying Miguel O’Hara
Oscar Isaac already portrays Marc Spector/Steven Grant in Marvel’s Disney+ series Moon Knight, and the work for its next season is already going on. As the MCU keeps growing, adding more franchises and storylines, there are speculations about whether Isaac can play both Moon Knight and Miguel O’Hara in live-action.
Moreover, rumors have emerged that Marvel Studios has plans to bring Miguel O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099 to live-action either as a solo figure or as a part of a team. According to scooper Cryptic4KQual, O’Hara’s knowledge about the multiverse may put him in contact with Kang, and they will team up as a result of their shared objective. However, the details of the potential story arc remain unknown.
Miguel's knowledge and experience with the multiverse (Spider-Verse) would've seen a Kang variant forming an alliance with him. Power for Kang, stability for Miguel. Some time back, I heard that Marvel wanted this alliance but Sony thought Miguel was a huge ask. pic.twitter.com/6BqSq8SbGq
— Cryptic HD QUALITY (@Cryptic4KQual) June 14, 2024
There can be no doubt that Oscar Isaac has made a mark with his performances, both on-screen and behind the screen. His acting talent was on full display when he portrayed different personalities within a single personality while playing the character of Moon Knight, who suffers from dissociative identity disorder. However, this same situation can also cause a problem if he portrays Spider-Man 2099 in live action.
Voice acting has more freedom when it comes to interpretation as compared to live action, where the character has to not only speak but also appear in a certain way. One of the risks associated with actors playing multiple characters within the same universe is that viewers might lose sight of events in the storyline behind the actors’ identities, which harms the suspension of disbelief.
Moreover, on a lighter note, Oscar Isaac will take his on-screen Multiple Personality Disorder to the next level if he portrays O’Hara as he will be portraying four live-action characters- Marc Spector/Moon Knight, Steven Grant/Mr. Knight, Jake Lockley, and Miguel O’Hara.
Failed Spider-Man 2099 Movie and Chances of a Live-Action Role
Before the success of Spider-Verse movies, according to Screen Rant, Sony Pictures tried using Spider-Man 2099 on the big screen in their failed attempt at The Amazing Spider-Man franchise. This proposed movie would have portrayed Miguel O’Hara a geneticist who becomes a Spider-Man in futuristic New York, where he fights against the evil Alchemax company and the main interdimensional villain Morlun.
The plot of the movie would have been concluded by connecting to Peter Parker’s Spider-Man through Morlun in order to face Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage. Unfortunately, it never materialized, and fans saw the animated version of O’Hara in the Spider-Verse movies.
After the character gained popularity in Spider-Man: Across Spider-Verse, the opportunity to get a live-action movie appeared again. However, since Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is the current Spider-Man in both Marvel and Sony’s universe, it might still take some more years to see Spider-Man 2099 in live action.
As Sony is already planning a Spider-Woman spinoff after the success of Spider-Verse, Spider-Man 2099 might also appear in a solo spin-off in animation before live-action. Another thing that Marvel might do is put O’Hara in its animated form in the live-action world of the MCU since viewers have already seen the live-action version of Donald Glover’s Prowler from Spider-Man: Homecoming in Across the Spider-Verse and all the old Spidey’s live-action form in the movie.
However, as far as O’Hara’s live-action rumor is concerned, Marvel Studios faces a real dilemma of choosing between Oscar Isaac, who has already provided the character’s voice and personality, or another actor to avoid confusion with his role as Moon Knight.
This conflict of ideas shows the challenges of adapting comic book characters and managing the demands of scripts and audiences, as every franchise is ready to expand its universes indefinitely.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Across the Spider-Verse are now streaming on Prime Video, Netflix, and Apple TV.
