Overall, Marvel has had a pretty poor run of villains, butHugo Weavingwas perfectly cast as Red Skull inCaptain America: The First Avenger. He had the perfect balance of menace while staying in the realm of old-fashioned villainy to make his mark as Cap’s longtime nemesis. Since the character didn’t die so much as getting beamed up at the end ofFirst Avenger, fans assumed they’d be seeing him again some day, and they were right. The character returned as the guide to the Soul Stone inAvengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgame, but this time he was played byRoss Marquand.
Speaking toTime Out, Weaving explained why he wanted to return to play Red Skull, but ultimately decided against it:
For starters, it’s not really a voice job, is it? Unless Red Skull was completely CGI (and he didn’t appear to be), then you’ve got to get in the makeup chair for a few hours every day of filming. And furthermore, he’s Hugo Weaving and you’re Marvel Studios. you may afford to pay this man slightly more money if for no other reason than you needed him back in 2011 before every Marvel movie was a guaranteed hit.
As for why he’s not coming back forMatrix 4, that sounds more like a scheduling issue:
‘“The Matrix” is a very different story. It’s unfortunate but actually I had this offer [for “The Visit”] and then the offer came from “The Matrix”, so I knew it was happening but I didn’t have dates. I thought [I] could do both and it took eight weeks to work out that the dates would work – I held off on accepting [a role in “The Visit” during that time]. I was in touch with [director] Lana Wachowski, but in the end she decided that the dates weren’t going to work. So we’d sorted the dates and then she sort of changed her mind. They’re pushing on ahead without me.’
This is all kind of unfortunate because Weaving’s a delightful actor, but I’m kind of okay with him not returning for a newMatrix. However you feel aboutMatrix ReloadedandMatrix Revolutions, Agent Smith is the primary antagonist. If you bring him back again, it diminishes the victories our heroes scored in those movies.
