Denzel Washington Open to Marvel or DC Role

The Equalizer 2 star Denzel Washington is open to boarding a superhero universe.

“I haven’t been approached… we’ll see what happens,” Washington said with a smile when asked by JOE.ie if he’s met with either Marvel Studios or DC Films. Asked if he would consider stepping into the genre, Washington answered, “Never say never.”

Washington headlined comic book adaptation 2 Guns with co-star Mark Wahlberg and has anchored numerous action films in his decades-long career — Man on Fire, The Book of Eli, The Equalizer, The Magnificent Seven — but the 63-year-old movie star has yet to pledge his talents to either the Marvel or DC cinematic universes.

Should he want in on the former, it’s only a phone call away: Washington speaks frequently with Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, and star Chadwick Boseman revealed earlier this year Washington paid for his acting studies at Oxford.

“I had forgotten about it, actually. I went to the premiere of Black Panther, a screening of Black Panther, and I didn’t want to deal with people in the crowd so I went in the back way. And I ran into Chad and Ryan Coogler,” Washington said.

“Because I was talking with Ryan — Ryan and I talk all the time — he was the one who invited me. So Chad, you know, thanked me. And I was like, ‘For what?’ He was like, ‘You know, because you [paid for my studies].’ I was like, ‘Oh, it was you! That’s really why I’m here, I want my money [laughs].’ Like our story, you never know who you touch and where they might end up. I had no idea that it would work out this way, and look where Chad is now. I’m glad to be — in a very small way — a part of it.”

In 2013, Washington was rumored to have been eyed by Warner Bros. for the role of Metropolis mogul and Superman arch-foe Lex Luthor or the John Stewart Green Lantern in the then-in-the-works Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Washington personally debunked those rumors when he told ScreenRant he “never heard that.”

The Equalizer 2 is now playing.