You Wouldn’t Believe How Many Actors from ‘The Hobbit’ Trilogy Are in the Marvel Movies
Annlyel James 
Annlyel explores the actors who performed in both The Hobbit Trilogy and the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Hollywood. It’s a giant clique of movie stars, directors, producers, writers, etc. that move around to entertain us in various films and television shows. A lot of times you’ll watch a movie and say to yourself, “I know that guy (or gal). They’re from such-and-such.” Well, it seems that a lot of actors that starred in The Hobbit Trilogy would actually have roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Of course, you may already know this fact but if you don’t I’m here to list them all to you. The obvious choice is screen legend Andy Serkis who portrayed both Gollum and Ulysses Klaue respectively, but let’s shine a light on the less than obvious characters here.
Richard Armitage
Richard Armitage stars as the dwarven king Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit Trilogy but did you know he played a much smaller but significant role as Heinz Kruger, a German assassin? Kruger would end up killing one of the unspoken great characters of the MCU, Dr. Abraham Erskine, which is still unfortunate whenever I see it.
Martin Freeman
From starring as the brave hobbit, Bilbo Baggins to playing a role in both Captain America: Civil War and Black Panther as Everett K. Ross, Martin Freeman has definitely wormed his way into my heart as one of my favorite actors.
Lee Pace
As King Thranduil of the Woodland Elves in The Hobbit Trilogy, we got to see Lee Pace as an immensely beautiful yet slightly untrustworthy and super wise elven king who not only looked cool but was pretty handy on a battlefield. In the MCU, he played the rather forgettable antagonist, Ronan, in Guardians of the Galaxy, going from eye-dazzling to yikes in instant with the blue skin covered in black paint and black teeth. While he wasn’t the best villain he was a great elf.
Hugo Weaving
In The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, Hugo Weaving plays the wise elven lord Elrond and he does a great job in the role too. In Captain America: The First Avenger he plays the classic HYDRA villain, Red Skull, who is actually one of my favorite Marvel antagonists. Not only does he convince as a villain–which is obvious considering that he played the villain in The Matrix movies–but his character would go on to be so fascinating in the final two Avengers films.
Cate Blanchett
Since I was a child Cate Blanchett has fascinated me as the undeniably gorgeous yet super powerful (and kind of scary)/truly benevolent elven queen Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. In the MCU she starred in Thor: Ragnarok as the first major female villain, the Goddess of Death, Hela, and she was amazing. Sassy and full of personality, she brought the fight to the heroes in a big way and I LOVED her.
Every movie (that I’ve seen) that Cate Blanchett has touched turns to gold. I love Cate Blanchett.
Benedict Cumberbatch
Bringing his incredible voice acting skills to The Hobbit Trilogy Benedict Cumberbatch played Sauron and the super scary dragon Smaug, injecting life into these villains that would make them unforgettable. In fact, he’s made Smaug, in my opinion, the greatest dragon ever brought to the big screen. Smaug is the reason why The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is the best installment and the reason why I went to see this movie twice in theaters. Smaug’s enormity in IMAX was astounding.
In the MCU, he has become, hands down, my favorite superhero (maybe of all time) as Doctor Strange. From a fire-breathing dragon to a Thanos-fighting “wizard””, Benedict Cumberbatch has dazzled me in both The Hobbit Trilogy and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Evangeline Lilly
Starring as the beautiful elven warrior, Tauriel, in The Hobbit Trilogy she was one of my favorite things about the movies (and there weren’t many favorite things.) It’s no surprise she would become one of the coolest superheroes in the MCU as the feisty/awesome heroine, Hope van Dyne/Wasp. As both of these characters, she has kicked butt and taken names, making Evangeline Lilly another one of my favorite female actresses.
These are all of the actors seen in The Hobbit Trilogy that managed to crossover with sizable roles in the MCU. We can also count Ian McKellen if I include his role as Magneto in the X-Men films.
The question is, will there be any more The Hobbit actors to find their way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe? We could see Orlando Bloom as Captain Britain, especially since he has claimed an interest in playing the role and I would personally love to see Luke Evans as Wolverine. That is, of course, if Marvel Studios will continue the legacy of the cinematic Wolverine being much taller than the comic-book version of the clawed hero (Wolverine’s 5′-3″ in the comics.) Not only does Luke Evans have the natural fangs to give him the perfectly feral look as Wolverine but he could also fill in the superhero hunk shoes that Hugh Jackman left behind. Just saying…
😉
The Future of the Force. The future of pop culture writing.
Annlyel James is a prolific Staff Writer for Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Follow her on Twitter @annlyeljames where she channels the Force frequently!
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
Annlyel James is a Senior Correspondent of The Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Aside from her role with Future of the Force she also writes for her blog: annlyelonline. Follow her on Twitter where she channels the Force frequently!
