8 Actors Who Were Let Down By Superhero Movies Twice

:0:1

The superhero movies of the MCU, the DCU, and beyond are sometimes far from flawless, and some actors have been unlucky enough to feature in more than one bad movie in the genre. Though the movies of the MCU have given the superhero genre a reputation for box office success, this isn’t always the case. Throughout the history of the genre, there have been many notable superhero movies that proved disappointing, whether from a box office or a critical perspective.
Many of the actors who feature in these disappointing superhero movies can consider them just a single black mark on their filmography. However, there are a select few who have actually appeared in multiple comic book movie failures, being let down by the superhero genre on more than one occasion. It may not always be a reflection on the actors themselves, as it’s sometimes down to a poor script or production issues, but regardless, here are 8 actors who were let down by superhero movies twice.
8 Michael Keaton Morbius (2022), The Flash (2023) Close Despite being a decorated and well-respected actor, Michael Keaton has featured in multiple disappointing superhero movies. After helping shape the modern superhero genre in Tim Burton’s Batman movies, Keaton’s appearance in two more recent flops somewhat tarnished his reputation within the sphere of comic book movies. After earning popularity for his appearance as Adrian Toomes – A.K.A. the Vulture – in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Keaton reprized the role via a multiversal crossover in Morbius’ post-credits scene. Morbius’ critical failure made it infamous within the genre, though Keaton’s own brief role was not to blame.
2023 saw Keaton reprise another comic book movie role, this time stepping back into the iconic cape and cowl of Batman for The Flash. Though Keaton’s return was the most anticipated element of The Flash’s story, the movie itself was poorly received by critics and went down in history as a major box office flop. Though both of the two movies that let Keaton down saw him reprise popular roles, their general lack of quality ultimately failed to live up to the high expectations placed upon Keaton’s roles within them.
7 Scarlett Johansson Iron Man 2 (2010), The Spirit (2008) Close Despite being a key part of Phase 1 of the MCU’s movie timeline, Scarlett Johansson has also been let down by multiple superhero movies. Though her MCU role later became one of her most successful, her franchise debut in 2010’s Iron Man 2 was considered somewhat disappointing. The movie earned a reputation as one of the MCU’s offerings that was severely lacking, with various issues regarding the script and specific actors’ performances cited as the reason. Johansson herself was considered a highlight, but the movie’s general lack of popularity speaks for itself.
However, two years earlier, Johansson was also prominently featured in another superhero movie that fared even worse than Iron Man 2. The Spirit was heavily criticized on multiple fronts, swiftly going down in cinematic history as one of the worst superhero movies ever made. Despite all of Johansson’s career success, her credits in two superhero movies that severely let her down continue to stand out as particularly poor offerings.
6 Josh Brolin Jonah Hex (2010), Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014) Close Josh Brolin is yet another decorated and well-respected actor to have fallen foul of the superhero genre on multiple occasions. 2010 saw Brolin star in Jonah Hex, a supernatural western based on the DC Comics character of the same name. The movie was a disaster, proving to be a massive box office bomb and a severe critical failure, despite Brolin’s own profile and a promising supporting cast. Unfortunately, Brolin’s track record with the superhero genre took another disappointing turn.
2014 saw Brolin appear in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, the sequel to 2005’s Sin City, based on Frank Miller’s comic book series of the same name. A Dame to Kill For received mixed reviews from critics, and significantly underperformed at the box office, marking yet another superhero movie failure in Brolin’s career. However, the same year also saw him make his MCU debut as Thanos, a role which he went on to reprise in several of the most profitable movies ever made in the franchise, redeeming his superhero genre reputation.
5 Danny Huston X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), The Crow (2024) Close When compared with some of the other actors to have featured in superhero movies, Danny Huston might not have achieved the same heights of critical or commercial success as some of his peers. However, Huston’s career has been long and features credits in a huge range of movie and TV roles. Unfortunately, this also includes two appearances in superhero movies that proved to be massively underwhelming both for Huston and the movies themselves.
Danny Huston’s debut in Fox’s X-Men movie franchise came in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments in the live-action Marvel mutant continuity. Huston more recently appeared in 2024’s The Crow alongside Bill Skarsgard, a movie which was critically panned and unfavorably compared to its predecessor. In essence, Huston’s track record in the superhero genre is incredibly unimpressive, and with comic book movies having let the actor down on more than one occasion.
4 Frances Conroy Catwoman (2004), Joker: Folie à Deux (2024) Close Though Frances Conroy has found the majority of her career successes in television roles, she has still featured in many movies over the course of her career. Many of her most high-profile movie credits have come in supporting roles, and Conroy has appeared in several notable films. However, she has also appeared in two notoriously bad comic book movies, meaning that the genre has let her down more than once despite her acting talent.
In 2004, Frances Conroy was featured in a supporting role alongside Halle Berry in Catwoman, which is often considered the worst superhero movie ever made, largely due to its poor script and direction. Conroy was later featured alongside the cast of Joker: Folie à Deux, albeit only through archive footage from its 2019 predecessor. Even so, Conroy’s inclusion in the ill-fated sequel marked the second time that she had appeared in a particularly poor superhero movie in her otherwise successful career.
3 Tim Blake Nelson The Incredible Hulk (2008), Fantastic Four (2015) Close Tim Blake Nelson’s career has seen him make many celebrated appearances in beloved and well-respected movies, working with a number of prominent directors and stars along the way. However, his appearances in comic book movies have been significantly less successful, even if the missteps of the movies in question did not relate directly to his own performance. In fact, it’s entirely fair to say that Nelson has been let down by the superhero genre.
2008 saw Nelson appear in The Incredible Hulk alongside Edward Norton and Liv Tyler. His role as Samuel Sterns was a minor one, and his character was thoroughly wasted by the movie. He later appeared in 2015’s Fantastic Four, again in a relatively small supporting role, which proved to be a massive box office bomb and critical disaster. Though the character of Samuel Sterns is set to be revisited in the MCU, Tim Blake Nelson has undoubtedly been let down by the superhero genre on two occasions.
2 Jared Leto Morbius (2022), Suicide Squad (2016) Close Though his reputation has suffered significantly in recent years, Jared Leto is undeniably a talented and decorated actor. Having made a name for himself with a number of successful roles in the ‘90s and ‘00s, Leto has since gone on to appear in several high-profile movies. While his performances in dark and dramatic roles earned him acclaim, his forays into the superhero genre did not earn him anywhere near as much success. In fact, the genre let him down considerably.
Leto’s appearance in Suicide Squad was far more limited than initially indicated, and his version of the Joker was unfavorably compared to previous actors’ incarnations of the character. He was later cast as the eponymous vampire in Morbius, a movie which became infamous for its poor writing and generally underwhelming execution. As such, Leto has appeared in two high-profile comic book movie flops - one within the Marvel sphere, and one within DC"s.
1 Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern (2011), RIPD (2013) Close Ryan Reynolds’ career success speaks for itself, but the actor has famously fallen foul of the superhero genre on more than one occasion. 2011 saw Reynolds cast as Hal Jordan in Green Lantern, which was widely panned by critics and has since come to be considered one of DC’s worst ever movies. In 2013, he then starred in R.I.P.D., which was based on the 1999 comic book of the same name. Again, R.I.P.D. failed with critics and bombed at the box office.
Reynolds also notoriously featured in X-Men Origins: Wolverine as Deadpool. The poor reception to the movie’s take on the character prompted the actor to campaign for a chance to more accurately capture him in live-action, ultimately resulting in multiple far more successful Deadpool movies. Though Reynolds was able to right that particular misstep, he has still been featured in poor superhero movies in the MCU, the DCU, and beyond.
Your changes have been saved

Email is sent
Email has already been sent

[圖擷取自網路，如有疑問請私訊]