Who Could Noah Jupe Be Playing in Avengers: Secret Wars?
With Doomsday marketing in full swing and Secret Wars gearing up to start production later this month, we are getting flooded with Avengers content right now. While we try to figure out how Doomsday will play out, the details have been very scarce on its sequel slated for December 2027. This is most likely due to the fact that any details about Secret Wars would spoil this years project, so they'll try to hold out as long as they can. However, there have been various official reports that Marvel has allowed to get out there (for example, Sadie Sink has been confirmed to return as Jean Grey in the film), with the latest being that Noah Jupe (Hamnet, A Quiet Place) has been cast in a mystery "key role".
There have been no rumors or confirmation of what this role will be, outside of it being important to the project at large, so today we'll be looking at some potential options and wether I think they make sense or not. I will say as a disclaimer here that there is always the potential that he plays none of these options and it's something completley out of left field. Marvel has been very under wraps about plot details for both films, but having read the source material and knowing generally about where Marvel is at right now, I think I can confidently narrow it down to these following options.
Franklin Richards
The role that has been suggested most frequently by fans since this casting was announced is a grown up version of Franklin Richards, the son of Reed and Sue from Fantastic Four: First Steps. There's been a few reasons fans have been jumping to this so quickly. The first would be that Jupe does look a lot like Pedro Pascal when you put the two of them side by side. I can agree that it definitley wouldn't be a stretch to see him as an older version of a child from Vanessa Kirby and Pascal. The second would be that this is one of the few roles we can somewhat confidently assume they'll be casting for Secret Wars. We know that a 4 year-old Franklin will be featuring in Doomsday in some way, and many have wondered if they'll age him up by the time we get to the following film. Franklin plays a somewhat prominent role in the comic they are basing this off, and getting a non-child actor may be a better way to fill those shoes. There was also an account going around claiming that Jupe had logged Fantastic Four on his personal letterboxd a few times recently, but I can debunk that - the user had 12 followers, showed no proof in any way and started to curse people out in replies when they said he was wrong.
So now that we've established the possibility, would this be a good idea? To be perfectly honest, as a die hard Fantastic Four comics fan, I am wildly against this. Franklin Richards has never been portrayed as any older than a teenager, and even that is usually in alt-universe or smaller runs. Noah Jupe is 21, and maybe he could play a few years younger, but not much further down than 16 or 17. Not to mention in any potential Fantastic Four sequel, he'd probably be at least 4-5 years older. Although these are comic opinions and general opinions colliding, there is an actual reasoning behind this thought. First, aging this character up so much in just one year feels like complete tonal whiplash. I don't mind aging him up a little bit, especially if he's going to have a larger role in SW, but I just think Jupe is too old for that. Another reason would be that if you age him up this much, you basically skip past anything interesting to do with his character and involvement with the team. At an older age, he's either his own superhero or wanting to make the 4 a team of 5, which I both think are horrendous ideas. I will admit though, this is probably the most likely option on this list.
Beyonder
This possibility was brought to the forefront for two really good reasons. The first being that the Beyonder is prominently featured in the original Secret Wars comic run from 1984, so it could be something they go for here. Second, Jupe looks almost identical to those older comic depictions of the Beyonder. For those who aren't familiar, this character was the main antagonist and reasoning for the original Secret Wars conflict. As for the newer version of Secret Wars, which seems to be more of what the Russo Brothers are focusing on, we explore the whole race of Beyonders and the one we saw from 1984 is pretty much explained away as the weakest of all. All you need to know is that the Beyonders are all powerful, with a fascination for life and death.
So could Jupe be portraying them in any form here? I like the idea a lot, but I'd only pour water on it by wondering if this is a character they'll be focusing on for this adaptation. Like I said, it appears they are taking more from 2015 rather than 1984, meaning that it's unlikely the Beyonder appears in that form here. I wouldn't be shocked if Doom is getting his power from a conduit that is not himself, like in 2015, but I'd say it's more likely that comes from a character we've already met. They could always introduce him in Secret Wars and then we could see some flashbacks to explain why it took so long for us to understand his role, but that feels less likely. However, the look alone is enough for this to warrant some eyeballs.
Young Doom/ Heir to Doom
Another character that is prominently involved in Jonathan Hickman's comic series is Kristoff Von Doom, the son and heir to Victor Von Doom's throne. There's times where Doom is either incapacitated or presumed dead, with Kristoff stepping in for some of the diplomacy. Considering where I expect things to go in Secret Wars, it may make sense to introduce some of Doom's family and expand that side of the world. Jupe certainly looks like he could be related to RDJ in some way and I think he has the acting chops to pull off a similar vibe to Victor. It's a bit of an out there guess because we still know so little about Doom's origins, but just thinking about it theoretically it could work.
I also wanted to group in the potential of him playing a younger version of Doom. We assume that Doom's backstory will be explored in some way in Doomsday, but maybe those flashbacks will be more prominent in the following film. For that they'd want to get a quality actor rather than a stand-in, which could be where we see Jupe fit in. Also considering his similarity in looks to Pascal, maybe a younger version of Reed is possible as well?
X-Men Character?
When this casting was announced, my first thought went to the group of young roles Marvel is most prominently casting right now - the X-Men. Sadie Sink has been confirmed for both Secret Wars and X-Men, plus people like Inde Navrrette have been rumored. That means that there is a possibility that Marvel could be casting characters to appear in both films, with SW obviously coming first. Now, there are a few holes in the theory. Typically if an X-Men casting has been leaked to the trades, those people have made it very clear what character the actor is playing. Also, is it weird that they'd be casting for X-Men, but reveal their Secret Wars appearance before X-Men starts filming? The timelines just get a little confusing there, as Deadpool would say.
But assuming this is a possibility, a few specific characters come to mind. The first for me would be Bobby Drake/Iceman, as Jupe very much looks like the character and fits the age range they've been casting for the team. We've heard Iceman thrown around a few times as someone that could be rounding out the team that was announced at D23, so it feels like one that they could be casting for. Angel is another one who has been thrown around, but I'm not sure Jupe fits the role as well. Nightcralwer is another one that came to mind for me, but it doesn't feel like he'll be appearing this early on. Saw someone online suggest Wolverine - no offense to Jupe, but no.
Wild Cards
I'll wrap up here with some more unlikely, but fun options that I've been thinking about. If we want to continue the trend of introducing post-SW movie characters in Secret Wars, we know that Marvel is in development on a Nova movie. If they were going for the Sam Alexander version of the character, Jupe would definitely fit the bill. These next two are just unlikely because they probably aren't going to be introduced here, if at all, but why not go for them here in the wild card section. With the rumors about the Young Avengers/Champions being featured in both Doomsday and Secret Wars, maybe they could be casting a few more members to round out the team. Hulkling is a prominent member in the comics and after we didn't see him alongside Billy Maximoff in Agatha All Along, I assume they are going to explore that relationship at some point in the near future. The last one I'd say would be Skaar, Hulk's son who briefly appeared in She-Hulk. That actor was more of a stand-in, and if they are following up on the leaked concept art of the Hulk's on battleworld, maybe we could see them cast a more prominent actor ike Jupe.
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