Could we see Shaq joining the MCU in the future? Almost definitely not, but if the former NBA superstar had his way, he'd be joining up with, or against, The Avengers in a future movie. It's not necessarily uncommon for celebrities to want in on a superhero movie these days, given that they're the biggest thing in Hollywood right now, but the idea of Shaq in a Marvel movie seems ridiculous. Especially when you hear what he wants to do.

The once talented professional basketball player and occasional actor was recently interviewed and the subject of what he would like to do as an actor in the future came up. His answer, on the surface, about wanting to appear in a Marvel movie isn't all that surprising. What is surprising is that he wants to go toe-to-toe with Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man and show him a thing or two. Here's what Shaq had to say about it.

"I would love to be in one of the Avengers movies. I would like to kick Robert Downey Jr.'s ass."

Is this ever going to happen? No. Would watching Shaquille O'Neal suit up as some kind of Marvel bad guy or anti-hero in order to beat up Iron Man be entertaining? Certainly. But not as a Marvel movie. Maybe as a sketch on Jimmy Kimmel Live or something along those lines. At best. But hey, you can't blame a big guy like Shaq for aiming big.

As you may or may not recall, Shaquille O'Neal is no stranger to comic book movies. Long before the MCU existed, and even years before the first X-Men movie arrived in 2000, giving us the first truly modern and good superhero movie as we know it, Shaq appeared in 1997's Steel. The movie is based on the DC Comics character of the same name and is easily one of the worst comic book movies ever made. Though, O'Neal acknowledges it was a big opportunity for him and would even like a shot to redo the movie with modern practical effects.

"It was an awesome opportunity. However, I'd like to redo it and get some of these 2018 special effects."

The current state of the DCEU is a little messy, but Warner Bros. isn't nearly desperate enough to give Steel another try. And frankly, special effects were not the biggest problem with that movie. As for his dream of appearing in an Avengers movie? Maybe as a cameo, but Robert Downey Jr.'s contract is up after Avengers 4 and that is very likely going to be his last appearance in the MCU. So that dream is pretty much dead, especially since Avengers 4 has already wrapped filming. Sorry, Shaq. You can check out the full interview with Shaquille O'Neal over at Entertainment Weekly.