Marvel Star Would Love To Play Batman for James Gunn

James Gunn's Batman reboot still doesn't have a star attached, could one of Black Panther's biggest stars secure the role?

By Aaron Perine

Black Panther star Winston Duke would absolutely leap at the chance to play Batman in James Gunn's DC universe. /Film caught up with the actor as he's tackling The Fall Guy with Ryan Gosling. The question of James Gunn's The Brave and the Bold came up, and the MCU star couldn't contain his excitement. Duke would love nothing more than to play The Dark Knight on the big screen. He's already perfomed the role of Bruce Wayne on Batman Unburied, Spotify's Batman audio drama. The Black Panther actor is also a massive nerd, so the fact this question even came up is amazing to him.

""Listen, man, can you start that [campaign]?," Duke chuckled. "I would say I challenge you to get on all these socials and push for me. Get your community. I would love to. I would love to do that as Batman. I'd love any opportunity to explore new characters, to change narratives around some of these entrenched ideas of how these characters are supposed to look, sound, and perform. I'm all for it."

Winston Duke Stars In Batman Unburied

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(Photo: DC Entertainment)

As we said earlier in this piece, Duke already has some experience with the world of Batman. Batman Unburied has been a success over on Spotify. David S. Goyer penned the Audie drama. WebToon and Spotify teamed-up to bring listeners a different take on the Dark Knight. Everybody involved was stoked to have the "largest simultaneous launch" on the platform. So many people flocked to the app to hear it that Batman Unburied got green-lit for Season 2. 

Here's what Spotify had to say to tease the series: "When audiences meet Bruce Wayne he is a forensic pathologist, working in the bowels of Gotham Hospital and tasked with examining the victims of The Harvester, a gruesome serial killer preying on Gotham's citizens. Not only will the superhero be forced to face his own mental demons, but he will also have to overcome them in order to save the citizens of Gotham as his alter-ego, Batman."

What James Gunn Has Planned For Batman

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(Photo: DC Entertainment)

At the moment, The Brave and the Bold is a bit of a mystery. DC Studios has started off the James Gunn and Peter Safran era with a lot of fun plans. One of the biggest announcements was their Batman project. Longtime fans are excited to see what this Bat-Family-centric take on The Caped Crusader will be like. Damian Wayne fans, your time is here, and this time we're going to see the character in live-action.

"This is the introduction of the DCU's Batman..." Gunn previously wrote. "This is the story of Damian Wayne, who is Batman's actual son who we didn't know existed for the first eight to 10 years of his life. He was raised as a little murderer and assassin. He's a little son of a bitch. He's my favorite Robin. It's based on the Grant Morrison comic book's run, which is one of my favorite Batman runs, and we are putting that all together right now."

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"And this is obviously a feature film, and it's going to feature other members of the extended 'Bat-family', just because we feel like they've been left out of the Batman stories in the theater for far too long," Safran added during the announcement.

Who would you like to see get a chance to play Batman? Check out all the pop culture discussion at @ComicBook on social media!

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