Anthony Mackie, the new Captain America, wants Shah Rukh Khan as an Avenger. Marvel Studios, which owns the franchise, should have roped in SRK from the very beginning. He would fit in well with Thor, Falcon, Hulk, Iron Man and the others.
If the Avengers are impressive now, SRK would make them extraordinary. Ronan, Thanos, and the other villains would be vanquished.
In an interview Wednesday, Mackie was asked to name a Bollywood star he would want to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And pat came the reply. “He is the best, damn!”, said Mackie in praise of the Jawan (2023) star. Not that we needed him to tell us how amazing SRK is.
Shah Rukh Khan can easily be the next Iron Man. He has the snarky humour and sharp wit that Rober Downey Jr brought to the character, and is definitely better at romance. Moreover, he would look great spouting Iron Man’s iconic dialogues, and will redefine the Marvel superhero’s love-hate relationship with Captain America – perhaps as a sibling-like bond.
Captain America is not the only one who thinks SRK is true Marvel material. Back in 2022, Benedict Cumberbatch (who played Dr Stephen Strange in Marvel’s Dr Strange franchise), also chose SRK over Hrithik Roshan to be part of the Avengers. In 2018, Stephen Wacker who was vice-president (creative development) at Marvel then, spoke about the company’s plans for its Indian audience.
“If we make Indian content, we have to put Shah Rukh Khan. He has to be in it,” he had said in an interview.
These are just a few of the signs showing that it’s high time SRK became part of the Avengers. This is the global debut many Marvel fans like me have been waiting for, or manifesting, to put it better. And with so many messages, the universe really ought to conspire to make it come true.
Do it like SRK
Shah Rukh Khan played a superhero robot in Ra One (2011). Granted, the execution was not the best, but even Marvel has stumbled a few times. Being an avenger would also be a perfect way to ‘avenge’ all the naysayers of Ra.One.
The Easter eggs are everywhere. In Deadpool 2 (2018), when Cable is seated in a taxi’s backseat with Deadpool and Dopinder in the front, Yu Hi Chala Chal Rahi from Shah Rukh Khan’s film Swades (2004) plays on the radio. Cable asks Dopinder to turn down the volume but Juggernaut, a mutant who is also in the cab, stops him from doing so, saying that he enjoys the song.
If there is one thing Khan can teach the Avengers, it would be how to negotiate their dysfunctional, or rather, defunct, love stories. He is, after all, the king of romance. And of course, he can teach them how to dance. Deadpool 2 may have won hearts with his dance in Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), but it doesn’t even come close to SRK’s Zinda Banda from Jawan and Jhoome Jo Pathaan from Pathaan (2023). No one does the hook steps better than King Khan.
Marvel has already won over Chinese audiences with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). Now, it’s time to recruit SRK to sprinkle his magic in this corner of the universe.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)
A piece of advice for Ms. Tina Das and the editorial team at The Print.
It’s good to be a fangirl of some actor/actress. No one has an issue with that.
But to pursue that to the extent where you publish such cringe articles on a reputed media platform is just not done. It damages the reputation of the media outlet in question.
The Print has made a name for itself due to serious and high-quality journalism over the last few years. Fangirl articles such as this one and other cringe-worthy articles on dating and relationships by Ms. Ratan Priya are bringing disrepute to the platform. Please be cognisant of this.