Winston Duke emerged as one of the standouts of both Black Panther movies thanks to his memorable take on M'Baku, and by all accounts, the actor is also a major highlight of The Fall Guy.
Duke has yet to establish himself as a Hollywood leading man, but all it takes is the right role, and the actor has set his sights on what will likely be the most sought-after part in Hollywood down the line.
During an interview with /Film, Duke was asked about the possibility of suiting up as The Dark Knight in the upcoming DCU Batman reboot, The Brave and the Bold, after previously voicing Bruce Wayne in the Batman Unburied podcast.
"Listen, man, can you start that [campaign]? [Laughs] 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."
We're sure Duke won't be the last actor to campaign for this role, but it's probably going to be quite a while before DC Studios begins the casting process.
The closest we've come to any kind of casting "rumor" was a bit of internet scuttlebutt about Jensen Ackles possibly being considered for the role, but The Boys and Supernatural actor made it clear that no conversations have taken place during a 2023 fan event - although he did admit to being very interested in playing Batman in live-action after previously voicing the iconic hero in The Long Halloween animated features.
"Look, right now nobody's talking about anything. There's a strike going on in the entertainment industry, and until that gets solved, nobody is having conversations about anything. Would I entertain the idea of playing my favorite superhero of all time? Nah, I'm good (laughs)...sounds like a lot of work. I would love it. Sign me up."
As far as we know, The Flash director Andy Muschietti is still attached to helm the DCU reboot, but the project has yet to assign a screenwriter (again, that we know of).
Along with a new take on the Caped Crusader, The Brave and the Bold will introduce a very different Robin in the form of Damian Wayne, a "murderous tween raised by assassins who also happens to be the son Batman never knew he had."<