Transformers series director Michael Bay is tentatively attached to direct DC Comics’ Lobo for Warner Bros., a project that would cost upwards of $200 million dollars if its current script made it to screen. As the script undergoes rewrites to scale down the production, here are ten actors who could star in Michael Bay’s Lobo film as the foul-mouthed, cigar-chomping bounty hunter alien.
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Mark Wahlberg
Rapper turned actor Mark Wahlberg is a rare triple threat capable of pulling off drama, comedy, and muscle-bound leading man action roles.
From dramatic turns in Boogie Nights, The Perfect Storm, Invincible, The Departed, The Lovely Bones, The Fighter, and most recently, All the Money in the World, Wahlberg has more than proven himself as a dramatic actor capable of tackling almost any role.
For his turns as an action star, Wahlberg’s resume isn’t too shoddy: it includes The Italian Job, Shooter, Contraband, 2 Guns, and the two most recent Transformers installments.
Plus, Wahlberg is jacked — mix in his comedic chops seen in The Other Guys, Ted and Ted 2, and Daddy’s Home and Daddy’s Home 2, and Wahlberg could make a formidable Lobo.
Wahlberg and Bay have a history, having first worked on bodybuilder true crime story-slash-dark comedy Pain & Gain before Bay enlisted Wahlberg for his new leading man in the Transformers franchise.
Ron Perlman
Ron Perlman portrayed a gruff and burly superhuman in Guillermo del Toro’s pair of Hellboy films, where he played cigar-chomping demon-slash-super agent Hellboy.
It’s unlikely Warner Bros. would tap the 67-year-old actor to tackle the leading role in a film they’d hope to turn into a franchise, but that doesn’t mean Perlman wouldn’t make a hell of a Lobo.
The Hellboy franchise has since moved on from Perlman, its reboot having enlisted Stranger Things star David Harbour for its starring role.
Perlman has likewise moved on, but the Sons of Anarchy star is ripe for the picking when it comes to a comic book movie role calling for a brusque and intimidating presence.
Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson
Hollywood’s favorite son Dwayne Johnson has already been long attached to portray Black Adam, arch enemy of Shazam, in his own DC Extended Universe movie.
Because of the heavy make up that would come with disguising Lobo’s actor, Johnson could feasibly tackle double roles in the DCEU. Johnson has the muscles, the charisma, and the acting chops to portray an alien bounty hunter, and he worked with Bay as a jittery and cocaine-addicted bodybuilder in Pain & Gain.
Johnson’s status as a leading man is unrivaled — he stars in the Fast and the Furious franchise, has a spinoff of his own in the works, as well as a slew of upcoming action-heavy movies like Skyscraper and Rampage, and he recently revived the Jumanji franchise for Sony — and despite his seemingly endless work schedule, landing Johnson in its lead role would all but guarantee Lobo big numbers.
Diego Boneta
Mexican actor Diego Boneta, who featured in TV’s Scream Queens and rock musical comedy Rock of Ages alongside Tom Cruise, is a dead ringer for the New 52 iteration of Lobo, which revamped Lobo’s look (these days, Lobo doesn’t look as much like a KISS cosplayer on steroids).
Boneta hasn’t had the chance to prove himself as a leading man, but putting a relatively smaller name in the lead role isn’t unheard of: it’s something Marvel Studios has done plenty, often recruiting veteran and pedigree talent to round out its casts to support their B and C list characters.
Rob Gronkowski
New England Patriots tight end and two-time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski is mulling over retiring from his football career to try his hand at making movies.
Sources said Gronkowski received encouragement from Dwayne Johnson and Sylvester Stallone, who told Gronk he could make “millions” starring in action films.
The 6’6″ Gronkowski has the body for it, of course, and he wouldn’t be the first athlete turned action star: it’s a path Johnson followed, as did Stallone’s Expendables co-stars Terry Crews and Ronda Rousey.
Jason Statham
The Fate of the Furious and The Expendables star Jason Statham might lack the stature of comic book Lobo, but there’s no doubt he’s a reliable action star.
Statham has the right attitude to play a character like Lobo, even if he doesn’t quite match up physically at a reported 5’10”.
Among the most recognizable action stars in recent years, with turns in Parker, Homefront, The Mechanic and Mechanic: Resurrection, and the Crank and Transporter films, Statham also has a budding comedy career after holding his own against comedian Melissa McCarthy in Spy as an over-the-top secret agent.
The English actor might be an out-there choice for the role, but his action and comedic chops could make for a fun and kind of crazy Lobo.
Michael Jai White
Michael Jai White is the rare actor and action star who has the real-life chops to back up his movie kung fu: White is a martial artist and is no stranger to the comic book genre, having starred as the eponymous Spawn and as gangster Gambol in The Dark Knight.
In recent years, White starred as Major Jackson ‘Jax’ Briggs in Mortal Combat: Legacy, and his build and martial arts prowess could make for some engaging action scenes as Lobo.
Fun fact: White voiced the John Stewart Green Lantern in the Justice League Heroes video game and near-unstoppable monster Doomsday in the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series. Maybe it’s time for a trip into a live-action DC Universe?
Kevin Durand
Also no stranger to comic book movies is 6’6″ actor Kevin Durand, who appeared as Fred Dukes, a.k.a. “Blob,” in the oft-maligned X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
Durand has played more than a couple of unhinged characters (Wild Hogs, 3:10 to Yuma), and the charismatic character actor could bring the right amount of “not all there”-ness and the irreverent attitude exhibited by Deadpool’s Ryan Reynolds.
Terry Crews
Terry Crews, best known for his role as Terry Jeffords in TV’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Latrell Spencer in White Chicks, is as funny and charismatic as he is bulky — and the guy is straight up jacked.
The 49-year-old actor’s biggest exposure in the action genre was as Hale Caesar in the Expendables franchise, so Hollywood is seriously sleeping on an actor who could rival Dwayne Johnson if given the proper shots.
Crews’ IMDb page has him appearing in an unknown role in the Deadpool sequel this summer, but his action and comedy prowess — and his superhero physique — makes Crews a natural fit for almost any outside-the-box comic book movie.
Brett Dalton
Like Diego Boneta, actor Brett Dalton is more suited to the modern iteration of Lobo compared to his more classic appearance.
Dalton, best known for his role as traitorous super spy Grant Ward in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, told ComicBook.com in July he would be interested in playing Lobo.
“Nobody’s gone in that direction,” Dalton said of Lobo. “That could be really dark and really twisted and its super graphic.”
Though Warner Bros. and Bay are having discussions about Lobo, Bay is currently not in negotiations with the studio nor have any offers been made.
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