The Red Skull made a surprise return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe this year with the Captain America: The First Avenger villain popping up in Avengers: Infinity War as the Stonekeeper, guardian of the Soul Stone on Vormir.
The character was originally played by Hugo Weaving in The First Avenger, but the role was recast for Infinity War, with The Walking Dead’s Ross Marquand portraying the former Hydra leader.
However, during an Infinity War screening and Q&A held by Collider last night, directors Anthony and Joe Russo revealed that Weaving was offered the chance to return – an opportunity he presumably rejected.
Hugo Weaving was asked to return to reprise Red Skull, that’s all the Russo Brothers would say. The Soul stone was the last stone in writing for them to come up with.
— /Film (@slashfilm) November 29, 2018
Despite having a multi-picture deal, Weaving had previously gone on record to state that a Marvel return was “not something I would want to do again”, so his absence from Infinity War certainly wasn’t a shock – nor was it detrimental from the scene.
SEE ALSO: Red Skull’s original Avengers: Infinity War design revealed
SEE ALSO: The Walking Dead’s Ross Marquand doesn’t know if Red Skull is in Avengers 4
An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Infinity War” brings to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.
Avengers: Infinity War stars Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), Mark Ruffalo (Hulk), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Chadwick Boseman (Black Panther), Tom Holland (Spider-Man), Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier), Anthony Mackie (Falcon), Paul Bettany (Vision), Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlet Witch), Don Cheadle (War Machine), Josh Brolin (Thanos), Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange), Benedict Wong (Wong), Chris Pratt (Star-Lord), Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Dave Bautista (Drax), Bradley Cooper (Rocket), Sean Gunn (Rocket), Vin Diesel (Groot), Karen Gillan (Nebula), Pom Klementieff (Mantis), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), Benicio Del Toro (The Collector), Danai Gurira (Okoye), Letitia Wright (Shuri), Winston Duke (M’Baku), Terry Notary (Cull Obsidian), Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Ebony Maw), Carrie Coon (Proxima Midnight), Michael James Shaw (Corvus Glaive) and Peter Dinklage (Eitri).
