Kat Dennings told Entertainment Tonight on the set of the ABC sitcom Shifting Gears that Marvel scanned her so they could use her likeness in future projects. Dennings has been part of the MCU since her debut as Darcy Lewis in 2011’s Thor. She has also appeared in Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Love and Thunder, and WandaVision. The revelation that Marvel was scanning her came up when Dennings was asked about appearing in Marvel’s high-profile film Avengers: Doomsday.
“What’s ‘Doomsday’? Oh, it’s ‘Avengers: Doomsday.'” I thought he was referring to our show. Wait, is that the finale? ” Dennings said jokingly. “I’m in the (Marvel) Universe and, you know, I can’t tell you anything. But I’m not in it. I mean, I’m not in it. I’m telling you right now, I’m not in it. If I were in it, I’m not, but I’m telling you I can’t, literally not. I was here (on set). I wasn’t in it. But they scanned me, so to be honest, I’m in the system. ”
Dennings’ most recent MCU appearance was in the animated series “What If…?” She played the voice of Darcy in four episodes of the show. Her future with Marvel is currently unknown, as is how the studio plans to use her likeness.
“Avengers: Doomsday” will be co-headlined by Dennings and frequent MCU co-star Chris Hemsworth, who is a rising star in Marvel’s future. The Australian star is returning as Thor, and a standalone Doomsday teaser trailer has also been released which hints that he will play a big role in the movie.
Body scans for actors are becoming increasingly common in Hollywood, leading to sharply divided opinions in the industry. Nicolas Cage made headlines last year when he told The New Yorker that he was afraid of AI and hoped that recent body scans he had to perform for two upcoming projects would not be used as a reference for AI technology to recreate his postmortem on screen. One of those projects is Prime Video’s “Spider-Man Noir.”
“They have to put me in a computer and match my eye color and change. I don’t know,” Cage said. “They’re just going to steal my body and do whatever they want to it through a digital AI. … God, I hope it’s not an AI. I’m scared of it. I’ve been very vocal about it. … And it makes me wonder, you know. So, where will the truth of the artist end up? Will it be replaced? Where will the heartbeat be? I mean, what are you going to do with my body and my face?
“Avengers: Doomsday” will be released in theaters on December 18th.
