The future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is looking bright with the success of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The film has done well with both audiences and critics as well as at the box office. With its titular superhero team set to reappear in Avengers: Doomsday, it may be interesting to note that star Ebon Moss-Bachrach previously played another MCU character prior to his tenure as Ben Grimm aka The Thing.
Marvel Studios carefully chose the cast for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, making sure everyone worked well together while also embodying the characters they were portraying for the big screen. Fortunately, everyone seems to have done a great job with their respective roles, with Moss-Bachrach receiving praise for portraying a tricky character given the use of CGI and VFX involved.
Years prior to playing The Thing, however, Ebon Moss-Bachrach actually portrayed a character in a very different MCU project as far back as 2017. This isn’t the first time that a MCU actor played two separate parts in the ongoing film and television franchise, but it’s certainly interesting considering just how different these projects – and Moss-Bachrach’s roles – have turned out.
The aforementioned role from 2017 can be identified in the hit Netflix series The Punisher, a show that was unfortunately canceled alongside the platform’s other Marvel shows before they were eventually moved to Disney Plus. In the MCU series, Ebon Moss-Bachrach played a character named David Lieberman, who also went by the name Micro.
While Lieberman will likely be retired as far as MCU appearances go, Ebon Moss-Bachrach mentioned the character in addition to his role as Ben Grimm aka The Thing while speaking with Entertainment Weekly. Fittingly enough, he noted that both of his MCU roles were tributes to major Marvel creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
“I think it’s cool that Micro is named David Lieberman, who takes his last name from Stan Lee,” the actor explained. “Then Ben Grimm is this Kirby amalgamation. So, in my brief two portrayals of Marvel characters, I’ve hit the two big guys. It’s a deep honor that I take to heart.”
It’s nice to know that Moss-Bachrach found some connective tissue between these two otherwise unrelated characters. While many fans might not even recognize that Moss-Bachrach previously played a role in the MCU, it’s fitting to see that he now has a much bigger role as he continues to carry on the legacy of The Thing and the people who created him.