With Ant-Man and the Wasp marking the twentieth movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it’s little wonder that some MCU actors have also cropped up in the DC Extended Universe. Kicking off in 2013 with Man of Steel, the DCEU now spans five released movies, with two more in post-production and an ever-growing slate of other projects in development.

The long-standing rivalry between DC and Marvel fans only heated up further when both franchises launched competing cinematic universes, but fortunately actors don’t have to pick a side in the battle. From major roles to tiny ones, these are the eight actors who have appeared in both the MCU and the DCEU.

  • This Page: Laurence Fishburne, Zachary Levi, and More Page 2: Florence Kasumba, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and More

Laurence Fishburne

Ant-Man and the Wasp’s core cast includes Laurence Fishburne as Dr. Bill Foster a.k.a. Goliath, an old friend of Hank Pym’s, who can be seen having a “size contest” with Scott Lang in the movie’s trailer. Fishburne also appeared in both Man of Steel and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as The Daily Planet’s editor-in-chief, Perry White, who has the unenviable task of trying to get Clark Kent to focus on covering sports news instead of running after a story about the Batman.

Ayelet Zurer

Ayelet Zurer appeared in Man of Steel as Superman’s mother, Lara Lor-Van, but unfortunately she didn’t get much screen time before Krypton was destroyed. Zurer had a slightly more expansive role in the MCU as Vanessa Marianna, a gallery owner who attracts the attention - and before long, the total adoration - of Wilson Fisk a.k.a. Kingpin in season 1 of Daredevil. Vanessa sold Kingpin an all-white painting dubbed “Rabbit in a Snowstorm,” and the two initially bonded over their appreciation for the art piece. However, the romance hit a bit of a speedbump when Wilson was arrested and Vanessa was forced to go on the run. Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin is set to return in Daredevil season 3, so perhaps we’ll see Vanessa again too.

Zachary Levi

Between the blond wig and the goatee, you may not have even noticed that one of the Warriors Three was recast between Thor and Thor: The Dark World. Zachary Levi took over the role of the swashbuckling Fandral from Josh Dallas for the second and third Thor movies, but since Fandral was killed off in Thor: Ragnarok we’re unlikely to see him again in the MCU. The good news, however, is that Levi will soon be making his DCEU debut as the title character in Shazam! - a powerful, square-jawed superhero that young Billy Batson turns into when he yells the word “Shazam!”

Scoot McNairy

After appearing in Ben Affleck’s Oscar-winning true-life drama Argo, Scoot McNairy was reunited with Affleck for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, in which he played Wayne Financial employee Wallace Keefe. Wally had his legs crushed and subsequently amputated during Superman and General Zod’s battle in Metropolis, and as a result he developed a bitter hatred of the Man of Steel - exacerbated by the fact that Lex Luthor stopped him from receiving his monthly compensation checks from Bruce Wayne. Over in the MCU, McNairy played a supposed documentary filmmaker called Jackson Norris in the Marvel One-Shot All Hail the King, who visits the fake Mandarin, Trevor Slattery, in prison after he is arrested for his involvement in the events of Iron Man 3. Norris eventually reveals himself to be a member of the real Ten Rings, working for the real Mandarin, and kidnaps Trevor in order to bring him in for punishment.

Page 2: Florence Kasumba, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and More

Florence Kasumba

Making her debut with the immortal line “Move, or you will be moved” in Captain America: Civil War, Florence Kasumba plays Ayo, a member of Black Panther’s all-female bodyguard team, the Dora Milaje. She reprised the role in both Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, but we don’t yet know if Ayo was one of the fifty percent of people turned to dust as a result of Thanos’ finger snap. Kasumba played another warrior woman, Senator Acantha, in the DCEU’s Wonder Woman, and while she hasn’t been confirmed for a return in Wonder Woman 1984, we wouldn’t rule out seeing Acantha again in a future Wonder Woman sequel.

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

If you don’t remember seeing Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje in the MCU or DCEU, it’s probably because his roles on both sides of the aisle involved heavy make-up. In fact, the make-up for his role as Killer Croc in Suicide Squad contributed to that movie winning an Oscar. Over in the MCU, Akinnuoye-Agbaje appeared in Thor: The Dark World, and started out being mostly recognizable as Algrim, a Dark Elf and lieutenant to Malekith. However, during the attack on Asgard he transformed himself into a terrifying and powerful horned creature called Kurse, who murdered Thor and Loki’s mother, Frigga. Loki was, at least, able to avenge his mother’s death by activating a black hole grenade on Kurse’s belt, killing him in a rather gruesome fashion as his body folded up and was sucked into the black hole.

Callan Mulvey

When Superman said “Save Martha” in Batman v Superman, this was the guy she needed to be saved from. Callan Mulvey played Anatoli Knyazev (a.k.a. KGBeast in the comics), a mercenary working for Lex Luthor who kidnaps Martha Kent and holds her hostage. When Batman arrives in the scene, Knyazev threatens to burn her alive with a flamethrower, so Batman shoots the tank and blows Knyazev away. Mulvey apparently has a good face for playing comic book henchmen, because he played a similar role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. His character, Jack Rollins, was part of the same STRIKE team as Captain America and Brock Rumlow, and like Brock he was soon revealed to be one of the many HYDRA agents working within SHIELD.

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

In Doctor Strange, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith plays a physiotherapist who tries to help Stephen Strange recover the use of his hands after the car accident, and tells him about another patient who underwent a seemingly miraculous recovery - leading the good doctor to eventually make his way to Kamar-Taj. His character in the movie isn’t named, unless you count Doctor Strange derisively referring to him as “Bachelor’s Degree.” Holdbrook-Smith became part of the DCEU in last year’s Justice League, where he played Detective Crispus Allen (a.k.a. Spectre in the comics), who works with Jim Gordon at the Gotham City Police Department.

More: Every Upcoming Marvel Movie (2018 - 2020)

  • Ant-Man 2 Release Date: 2018-07-06 captain marvel Release Date: 2019-03-08 The Avengers 4 Release Date: 2019-04-26 spider-man homecoming 2 Release Date: 2019-07-02 Aquaman Release Date: 2018-12-21 Shazam! Release Date: 2019-04-05 Wonder Woman 2 Release Date: 2020-12-25