NEWS WATCH: Orlando Bloom Campaigns for the Role of Captain Britain

It seems like every actor wants in on the superhero movie biz these days. With the surge in popularity and stigma removed from these roles, it seems that actor Orlando Bloom is no exception.

Though acting since 1997, Bloom stormed the box office in 2001 with his breakout role as Legolas in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and with bow in hand his arrow struck the hearts of fans on a global level. In addition to a leading role in the subsequent 4 Lord of the Rings installments, Bloom also was featured in lead roles of Pirates of the Caribbean, Troy, and a host of other films, including his most recent appearance in the British films Romans and S.M.A.R.T. Chase in 2017.

In a recent interview with BBC radio interview, Bloom surprisingly revealed that he’s a comic book fan himself and went on to seemingly lobby for his own spot within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His choice of roles might have been as equally surprising as he divulged that should the opportunity present itself he would very much like to usher in England’s official defender Captain Britain.

Bloom was quoted as saying “I do read a little bit, Who’s the British one? Captain Britain! There you go. Terrible costume, though. And you’ve also got Captain America so what you going to do? Captain Britain versus Captain America?”

Many fans cringe at the thought of Marvel unwitting unleashing another Batman Vs Superman fiasco.

Captain Britain is a somewhat surprising choice to some but naturally appealing for the English actor. Outside of the X-Men universe and comic book fans of Excalibur, Captain Britain is a rather obscure character to even perhaps the larger Marvel reader with very limited appearances is outside of the mutant-centric titles.

Needless to say, the likelihood of Captain Britain and Brian Braddock’s introduction into the larger Marvel film franchise seems slim. Aside from the character’s lesser-known popularity, Britain’s abilities closely mirror another captain that is about to make her film debut later this year. Captain Marvel played by Brie Lawson shares his ability to fly, as well as super strength and rugged durability. Captain Marvel, however, possesses the additional ability to access energy blasts with limited access to cosmic abilities and the white hole. With Captain Marvel also known as Carol Danvers already set to take the main stage, unless they were to significantly alter or revamp the character, which may be less than welcome by fans, Captain Britain would Likely be viewed by studio execs as redundant.

Despite the range of character’s popularity and marvels current direction with phase 4 of their filmography, Bloom isn’t the only star interested in the role. Fellow British actor Simon Pegg has also expressed interest in the same role. Pegg who is widely known for his role as Montgomery “Scotty” Scott in the recent reboot of the Star Trek franchise reportedly disclosed that he also shares Bloom’s keen interest in the role during a recent interview and is also a fan of comics and notably Captain Britain himself, advocating that Marvel needs representation through European characters.

Pegg stated, “I mean, Captain Britain was the Marvel superhero that I loved growing up, ’cause he was the British member of that community, I even have a Captain Britain mask when I was a kid, but I fear I would probably be slightly too old now, but if they do have… If a Captain Britain movie comes about, they’re gonna need a British cast, so…”

Two mainstream actors endeavoring for the same role. The question is, will Marvel respond and give life to the sorely underutilized guardian of the Isles? It wouldn’t be the first time we’ve been surprised. Officially Marvel has not responded to the report and offered no follow-up statement at this time.