Now that the Stranger Things finale has come and gone, the actors are free to start exploring other roles and take on new acting opportunities. The show was a huge hit, so the actors are all now household names that either have had roles in other major productions at some point and time or are now at the very least primed to. Somewhere near the top of that list is Joe Keery, who played Steve Harrington, the school bully turned ally and best friends to Robin (Maya Hawk) and Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo).
In a new scoop from insider Daniel Richtman (@DanielRPK), it is being reported that Marvel is now in fact eyeing Joe Keery for a role within the MCU. No further details have been given, and this isn’t even the first time Keery’s name has been associated with Marvel as in August a similar rumor was also circulating around the internet that claimed the actor would be playing a Marvel hero. That report was eventually debunked, but with it coming up again months later after the finale of Stranger Things, it looks as if there could have been some truth to the initial rumor after all. Either way, Richtman is a reliable source and Marvel has already recruited Stranger Things costars David Harbour as Red Guardian, Joseph Quinn as the the Fantastic 4’s Human Torch, and Sadie Sink as (presumably) Jean Grey in the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, so it wouldn’t come as a surprise if additional actors from the show made their way over to the MCU as well.
Aside from the actors already recruited by the movie studio, other actors from Stranger Things are also rumored to be in consideration for roles with Marvel including rumors surrounding Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) joining Sadie Sink as another one of the upcoming X-Men and Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas) as a potential Miles Morales. The show shares a lot of Marvel tropes and uses the same sort of production techniques involving a blend of CGI and practical acting, so the cast of the show already have the experience and skills to take on a Marvel film.
Keery has had theatrical experience already, having roles in films such as Free Guy (2021), Marmalade (2024), and the upcoming horror comedy Cold Storage (2026). Prior to Stranger Things he also acted in the television shows Fargo (2014) and No Activity (2017), but it easily best known as Steve from Stranger Things. Steve was the original bully and love interest of Nancy Wheeler from season 1, although he never quite met the ruthlessness of season 2 and 3 bully Billy Hargrove. Even though he was a bully, Steve still had addictive charm in season 1 that slowly transformed him into one of the show’s core characters and friend to both groups, the teenagers his age and also the younger group of children, most notably forming a brotherly relationship with Dustin.
At the end of the day, Steve ended up being a fan favorite character from the show so it would be a smart addition for Marvel. While this is still a rumor, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Keery join the MCU based on the amount of actors from the show that have already been recruited by the movie studio. He is at the age where he could play a large variety of characters, so it will be interesting to see if this rumor ends up being true and who the actor could end up playing. For now, Twitter is being inundated with fan-casting of the actor with some of the more notable predictions being a young Cyclops or possibly Harry Osborn.
Do you want to see Joe Keery take on a role in the MCU? Who do you think he could play? Let us know down in the comments!
Source: DainelRPK
