We all thought the Red Skull had died and ascended into the heavens at the climax of Captain America: The First Avenger. But we were all wrong. A collective gasp was let out when the crimson made an entrance during a particularly pivotal scene in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War, revealing that he had been veiled in the icy mounts of Vormir, guiding others to a treasure he himself could not possess. After the events of Avengers: Endgame, it was unclear what the Red Skull’s fate was as it was never touched upon.
Ross Marquand, who took on the role after Hugo Weaving decided not to return, stated that he thinks that Red Skull could make a comeback in a prominent way. In an interview with Nerds4Life, the actor opened up about what the Red Skull might be up to once he was free of his deathly shackles.
[Directors Anthony and Joe Russo] said once the Red Skull is released of the Soul Stone, once Thanos gets it and then once Hawkeye gets it, he’s essentially free. But if we think about it, there’s all these different multiverses now. So in one multiverse, when Thanos frees him, he’s free. I would imagine the first thing he would do if he still has a vendetta, or if any part of him still has ambition, would go back to Earth.
Marquand further elaborated on what he thinks the crimson-head would do once he sets foot back on his home planet.
Maybe he wants to enact revenge, maybe he wants to keep his diabolical plan going, or maybe he doesn’t care at all. I imagine when you’re graced with infinite wisdom, you’re also graced, or cursed, with infinite pain and suffering. So he’s probably, I would imagine on one level, he’s over it. He doesn’t need to conquer anybody, because he’s [unliving]. I think Red Skull could certainly move into that territory, where he is just a casual observer of the world, and the celestial bodies of the entire universe, and he only intervenes when he’s absolutely needed, but that’ll be interesting if he’s gonna be a force of good or evil.
What Marquand described is very much like the role of the Watcher. In Marvel comics, the Watcher is pretty much a celestial overseer, never dipping his fingers into the course of history unless absolutely necessary. The alien beings made their first live-action appearance in Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 2, in a cameo with the late Stan Lee.
When asked whether he had been approached to play the character again, Marquand said that he hadn’t but would absolutely be down for the part.
I think that role obviously belongs to Hugo, he is the person that originated it and I loved what he did with that. If his heart is in a different place and he no longer wants to return, I would truly again be honoured to play that character again.
Comparing his portrayal as a cross between Hugo’s portrayal and the little green Jedi, Yoda, Marquand went on to say of the character’s newfound benevolence:
It was a thing of, he’s a wise soul. He’s 84 years older, but he’s also an apparition, he’s kind of a ghost at this point. He’s no longer the diabolical, ambitious man that we know him as in 1944… I think that was just such a fun take on him because he’s just so broken, he’s such a cursed man and I loved playing that.
So, yes, the Red Skull’s future is still very much up in Vormir. Considering the fact that the character never met his end in Avengers: Endgame, Marvel still has that ball in play somewhere in the park. Unless, of course, Steve Rogers just… GAVE HIM the SOUL STONE, and his eternal curse slid into his DM’s demanding a date with his deathly head, to which we will never know the answer.
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