23 'The Walking Dead' stars who have played Marvel characters

• Many "TWD" stars have appeared in Marvel projects or actively appear in both franchises.

• Michael Rooker and Lauren Ridloff starred in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise and "Eternals."

• Cailey Fleming, Matt Lintz, and Ross Marquand have also appeared in past Marvel projects.

Jon Bernthal played Shane for two seasons before being cast as the Punisher on Marvel's Netflix series.

After playing Rick Grimes' best friend, Shane Walsh, on "TWD" for its first two seasons, Bernthal starred on Netflix's "The Punisher" as the vigilante Frank Castle from 2017 to 2019.

Disney recently regained control of Netflix's Marvel series. When asked by The Hollywood Reporter if we could see Bernthal play Castle again, Bernthal said he's "enormously protective" of the character and that it would need to be handled in a way that's authentic without watering it down, otherwise you're doing a disservice to the character.

"This character means so much to people in the military," Bernthal said, adding, "So like I said before, it's not about whether you do the character; it's about whether you can do it right, and I'm only interested in doing it right."

Danai Gurira played katana-wielding badass Michonne on "TWD" and has appeared in in three Marvel movies as Okoye, the general of the Wakandan army.

Gurira will reprise her role in November's "Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever."

According to THR, Gurira will also reprise her role in an upcoming "Black Panther" origin spinoff series on Disney+.

Michael Rooker played Daryl's brother Merle before he starred in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise.

Rooker played Yondu Udonta in the first two "Guardians of the Galaxy" films. Yondu sacrificed his life to save Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), who he considered a son, in the 2017 sequel.

Fans will see him back in the upcoming third film.

Ross Marquand has juggled playing Aaron on "TWD" since season five while lending his voice to a few Marvel characters.

Known for his spot-on voice impressions, Marquand has voiced Red Skull in "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame."

He also voiced Ultron on Disney+'s animated "What If...?" series.

Of the latter role, Marquand explained finding the right voice for the role, where he doesn't do a straight impression of James Spader from "Age of Ultron."

"The director really told me it's not gonna be a straight a voice match because this is a combination of Vision and Ultron," Marquand told Insider. "We want to have a little bit more of a super computer mentality that's just a little bit more like lethal."

Jordan Woods-Robinson played Aaron's boyfriend Eric on "TWD." He briefly showed up on "Loki."

Woods-Robinson can be seen on season one, episode two of "Loki" as an analyst. He notices the universe's "sacred timeline" going out of wack.

Lauren Ridloff has played fan-favorite Connie on "TWD" since season nine. She also starred in "Eternals."

Ridloff was cast as Makkari, Marvel's first deaf superhero. In the comics, the character is a white, hearing male.

When Ridloff joined the MCU, she had discussions with both Disney and Marvel about subtitling movies.

"It's been an ongoing conversation since I've joined and they are aware of how important it is to subtitle, how important subtitling is to me, and to the deaf community," Ridloff told Insider.

Matt Lintz, who played an older Henry on the show, is set to star on Disney+'s upcoming "Ms. Marvel" series.

Lintz was memorably killed off "TWD" in 2019. At the time, Lintz told Insider he was taking a break from acting for a bit to enjoy his junior year of high school.

Three years later, Lintz will be playing Bruno Carrelli, the best friend of Kamala Khan, the teen from New Jersey who gets superpowers to become Ms. Marvel.

Cailey Fleming has played an aged up Judith in the zombie apocalypse since season nine. She made a surprise appearance on "Loki."

Fleming told Insider she had no idea she was playing young Sylvie on the Disney+ series until watching the episode when it debuted online.

"Whenever I was filming, I only got my scenes," Fleming said of her time on "Loki." "I didn't get the script for the episode or anything. I had no idea what was going on."

After playing Jared, the Savior you loved to hate on "TWD," Joshua Mikel appeared in "Ant-Man and the Wasp."

Mikel played one of Sonny Burch's bodyguards in the 2018 sequel who gets knocked out by the Wasp.

Elizabeth Ludlow played a fellow Savior, Arat, and was unrecognizable in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2."

Ludlow played the Easik mother, a woman who lived on a planet that Ego visited, in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2."

Before Michael James Shaw played Mercer, the leader of the Commonwealth's militia, on "TWD," he worked with Thanos.

Shaw was unrecognizable in "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame" as Corvus Glaive. He was one of the members of Thanos' Black Order.

He was attacked by Black Widow and killed by Vision. Coincidentally, another version of Corvus was killed by Danai Gurira's Okoye in "Avengers: Endgame."

Before he played Spencer Monroe on "TWD," Austin Nichols appeared on the first season of "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Nichols played Skye's ex-boyfriend Miles on season one, episode five.

Carlos Navarro was Alvaro, a member of the Kingdom, on "TWD" and more recently appeared on "Hawkeye."

Navarro played Enrique, a member of the Tracksuit Mafia, on four episodes of the Disney+ series.

Maximiliano Hernández was a cop on "TWD" and a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent on TV and in the MCU.

Hernández played Bob Larsen, one of the cops who worked at the hospital where Beth was being held hostage on season five of "TWD."

The actor also had a recurring role as Agent Sitwell on "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." His character was one of the few to crossover into the movies. Sitwell appeared in "Thor," "Avengers," "Captain America: Winter Soldier," and "Avengers: Endgame."

Zach McGowan played a Savior named Justin on season nine of "TWD." He also appeared on "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

McGowan played The Superior, the leader of the Watchdogs, on the ABC Marvel series. He's also one of the few "TWD" stars to have also appeared in "The Terminator" franchise.

Briana Venskus was a member of Oceanside, Beatrice, on "TWD." She also appeared on "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Venskus was on "TWD" from seasons seven through 10. On "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." she played Agent Piper.

After Corey Hawkins played Heath in the zombie apocalypse, he appeared in "Iron Man 3."

Hawkins can be seen as a member of the Navy in the 2013 film.

Kerry Condon appeared on the season four premiere of "TWD" in a side story with Rick. She later played an important voice in the MCU.

On "TWD," Condon played Clara, a woman Rick ran into who couldn't move on from her husband's death. You may not have realized it, but Condon appeared twice more on "TWD" as a zombified version of her character later that season.

In the MCU, Condon voiced F.R.I.D.A.Y., the voice Tony Stark used to replace Jarvis, in five Marvel movies starting with "Avengers: Age of Ultron."

Pruitt Taylor Vince memorably played Otis on "TWD" and Grill on "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."

Otis was left for dead by Shane on season two of "TWD" while getting medical supplies for Carl.

Daryl famously blew up Christopher Berry on "TWD" before he worked for Michael Keaton's Vulture in "Spider-Man: Homecoming."

Berry was a nameless member of Negan's Saviors on season six of "The Walking Dead." He was the leader of the bike gang that threatened Abraham, Sasha, and Daryl.

Daryl wasn't having it and decided to blow them up with an RPG.

In "Homecoming," he played Randy Vale, who started salvaging alien technology for Keaton's Adrian Toomes/the Vulture.

Brett Gentile played a member of the Hilltop on "TWD" and appeared briefly in "Captain America: Civil War" as a truck driver.

Gentile played Freddie from season six, episode 11 of "TWD" until he was killed on season eight, episode two.

Travis Love played one of the Governor's soldiers, Shumpert, on "TWD" and is a high-ranking member of the Jabari tribe, M'Bele, in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever."

Love appears in most scenes with M'Baku (Winston Duke) in "Wakanda Forever."

On "TWD," Love appeared largely throughout season three. His character's death was confirmed on season four, episode seven.

Steven Yeun starred as fan-favorite, Glenn, on "TWD." He's joining the MCU in 2024's "Thunderbolts" movie in a big role.

Steven Yeun played Glenn on "TWD" for six seasons until his character was brutally murdered on the show's season finale, a choice which Jeffrey Dean Morgan told Insider in 2022 was "probably a bad decision."

Deadline reports Yeun will join the upcoming "Thunderbolts" movie in a "significant" role alongside Florence Pugh, David Harbour, Sebastian Stan, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The film follows a ragtag bunch of antiheroes.

The movie's currently set for a July 26, 2024 release.

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