In the movie Avengers: Infinity War, Ross Marquand played the role of Red Skull, even though Hugo Weaving played the role initially in Captain America: The First Avenger.
Why did they replace Weaving with Marquand?
asked May 14, 2018 at 7:52
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4I've seen the movie twice, and it sounded like Hugo Weaving's voice both times. I don't know what Ross Marquand sounds like (he might sound very much like Hugo, or be able to do a very good impression), but do we know how much of the role he actually performed? Is it possible he did the physical acting (limited as it is, given that Red Skull is on screen for probably less than a minute) and Hugo Weaving did the voice acting?– Anthony GristCommented May 14, 2018 at 10:12
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5Ross is pretty good at voice imitation - you can see some of his skills on youtube. youtube.com/watch?v=C2E0--KH_Gs– Phlegon_of_TrallesCommented May 14, 2018 at 11:50
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3I was wondering this the other day. Its probably because many of these comic book villains roles are really flat, unsophisticated characters. The Nazi leaders are probably some of the least sympathetic characters in history. Not much of a challenge for an artistic actor to sink their teeth. Also he may not want to get typecast.– Mark RogersCommented May 14, 2018 at 14:23
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4@MarkRogers I'm pretty sure most people think of Elrond or Agent Smith when they think of Hugo Weaving, not Red Skull. I do, at least.– JABCommented May 14, 2018 at 16:21
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10Hugo Weaving as Red Skull: I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. Life moves to an area-- Thanos: And multiplies and multiplies. Red Skull: Yes, until every natural resource is consumed. Thanos: And the only way it can survive is to spread to another area. Red Skull:: Yes, exactly. There is another organism that follows the same pattern. Thanos: A virus. Red Skull: Yes! Life is a disease, a cancer of this universe. Life is a plague-- Thanos: And I am the cure! Red Skull: I feel like you really get me.– SchwernCommented May 15, 2018 at 5:07
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3 Answers
Maybe because he was not interested to do it. He was pretty clear about his opinion for future portrayal of the character from very start, from his 2012's interview from collider (emphasis mine):
I [signed a multi-picture deal] for Captain America. I think the tendency, with those films, would be to probably not bring a villain back. They might for The Avengers, but I didn’t think I’d be in Captain America 2 or 3. I don’t think Red Skull will be there. And it’s not something I would want to do again. I’m glad I did it. I did sign up for a number of pictures and I suppose, contractually, I would be obliged to, if they forced me to, but they wouldn’t want to force someone to do it, if they didn’t want to. I think I’ve done my dash with that sort of film. It was good to do it and try it out, but to be honest, it’s not the sort of film I seek out and really am excited by. As an actor, to do all sorts of different films is great. It stretches you in different ways. But, I increasingly like to go back to what I used to always do, which is to get involved with projects that I really have a personal affiliation with.
But no official words came for Avengers: Infinity War specifically yet.
answered May 14, 2018 at 8:05
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8He may have been willing to do it but had a scheduling conflict, he's been finishing up another movie recently, and done a lot of TV in the last couple of years, all it would have taken would have been for him not to be in the right state, let alone country when they wanted to film the scene and MS may have decided Marquand was the easier option Commented May 14, 2018 at 10:11
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9Also, they may have just blown their expensive actor budget :/ Commented May 14, 2018 at 15:38
In an interview with Uproxx, the Russo Brothers were asked about Hugo Weaving not returning and said the following:
Did Hugo Weaving not want to do it?
Joe Russo: You know, he made a statement a couple of years back that he was done with Marvel.
It would appear they were aware of Weaving's previous statements about the role as referenced in Ankit Sharma's answer, and decided to respect his wishes not to do it again.
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3Pretty cool they would respect that instead of forcing an actor to fulfill a contract. Commented May 15, 2018 at 3:17
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2Perhaps the answer could be edited to clarify when this interview took place? Commented May 15, 2018 at 3:17
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He would also presumably be quite expensive for what was ultimately not much more than a cameo. Commented May 15, 2018 at 11:11
Because of the difficulty of the make-up process involved, Hugo Weaving refuses to reprise the role even though he had fun playing it.