Maybe the insane success of Captain America: The Winter Soldier has gone to everyone at Marvel's heads. Or at least, that's what this latest casting news leads me to believe. The upcoming Ant-Man has cast Matt Gerald as a villain and even if don't recognize the name, Marvel seems to be hoping you've seen him before. Gerald starred in "All Hail the King," a One-Shot, or short film, that accompanied the digital download of Thor: The Dark World and continued the events of Iron Man 3.
In "All Hail the King," Gerald plays White Power Dave, a prison inmate alongside Ben Kingsley's The Mandarin. The problem isn't with Gerald's casting, Marvel's proven to be pretty great at that, it's the fact that he's been in a One-Shot. If Gerald reprises the same role for Ant-Man, a good possibility considering how interconnected the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become, that means that now even One-Shots are crucial to the all-encompassing story arcs.
First we had to see every single Marvel movie and stick around for after-the-credits scenes, then they made us start watching a TV show every week and now we might have to pay attention to DVD extras? Being a Marvel fan is starting to become a lot of work. Even if Gerald plays a new character, it still elevates the importance of "All Hail the King" because it gives fans a better look at an actor who could become very important to the Universe in the future.
There are no details on Gerald's character besides him being a bad guy, though it's not likely he'll play Ant-Man's main villain. That role will probably go to a bigger name, since the cast already boasts Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Patrick Wilson, Corey Stoll and Michael Peña.
Still, just to be safe, you better start catching up on those One-Shots. Marvel's next big star could be hiding in one.
