Matthew McConaughey has a dream Marvel role, and a rumored Marvel Cinematic Universe movie would be the perfect place for him to finally get his wish. McConaughey is one of Hollywood’s most famous actors working today, having won a Best Actor Oscar for 2014’s Dallas Buyers Club and starred in a slew of both critical darlings and commercial hits. McConaughey joining one or more of the projects on Marvel Studios’ slate would be a major win for the MCU, especially since the franchise has had some issues in recent years.

Getting top talent into the MCU would be a great way of winning back some of the audience Marvel lost after a few controversial projects released during the Multiverse Saga impacted the MCU’s reputation. McConaughey has the star power to play a major MCU character like Norman Osborn, taking over from Willem Dafoe after his multiverse appearance as Green Goblin in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The long list of excellent movies in McConaughey’s career shows how he would be perfect for Osborn and multiple other MCU characters, but there is a Marvel role that the actor would love to play.

Matthew McConaughey Wants To Play The Hulk

Bruce Banner Is Already In The MCU

McConaughey has revealed that the one Marvel role he has dreamed of playing is none other than one of the MCU’s original Avengers — the Hulk. During an interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast in 2020, McConaughey said that he even approached Marvel to play Bruce Banner. According to the actor, the studio was not interested in the actor for the Hulk, saying, “No, thank you.” What McConaughey did not make clear was for which project he had approached Marvel to play the Hulk in, be it 2008’s The Incredible Hulk or something else.

Edward Norton ended up being the first actor in the MCU to give life to the Hulk. However, after a creative falling out with Marvel, Norton left the franchise. Mark Ruffalo was then cast as the Hulk for 2012’s The Avengers, continuing to this day in the role as one of the few remaining members of the original Avengers cast. McConaughey got his chance of joining the MCU in the past, though the actor rejected a villain role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 — presumably Ego — due to feeling the character was a gimmick.

McConaughey Would Be Perfect For The Rumored World War Hulk Movie

A Hulk Solo Film Is A Hard Task

The MCU is currently going through its Multiverse Saga, and a movie rumored to be in development could be the perfect project to allow McConaughey to play his dream Marvel role. Among the projects rumored to be in the works at Marvel Studios is a possible World War Hulk movie. The film is a difficult one to happen, as the movie rights for the Hulk have been a complicated matter since the release of 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, which has led to no solo Hulk movies being released after it.

However, there is some evidence that Marvel might have the distribution rights for solo Hulk movies again. The World War Hulk movie would be a major MCU event that could include McConaughey as a version of the Hulk in two very different ways. If the project was tied to the Multiverse Saga, then McConaughey could appear as Bruce Banner, playing the Hulk of a different universe. However, if a more classic version of the comic book story was adapted, then McConaughey could play an MCU character who becomes a Hulk — perhaps an original take on the powerful villain Maestro.

How The MCU Has Set Up An Exciting World War Hulk Project

A Movie And A Series Lay The Ground For The Project

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law set up World War Hulk to be a major MCU event if the rumored movie ever becomes a reality. In the Disney+ series, Bruce Banner’s blood was an important plot point. Not only did it turn Jennifer Walters into She-Hulk, but when it fell into the wrong hands, the Gamma-infused blood transformed the villain Todd into a version of the Hulk. While Todd was a minor villain, Banner’s blood could come to fall into a major antagonist’s hands in the future, and that could have disastrous consequences.

After being teased at the end of 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, Tim Blake Nelson will finally return to play the Hulk villain known as the Leader in 2025’s Captain America: Brave New World. The timing of the Leader’s MCU return after more than a decade is intriguing, making it likely that the villain — who was himself transformed by Banner’s blood — could be the one to lead to a World War Hulk movie and make Matthew McConaughey’s dream Marvel role a reality.