Lennie James is perhaps best known for his role as the post-apocalyptic warrior Morgan Jones in AMC's The Walking Dead and Fear the Walking Dead, but should the opportunity arise for him to play a comic book superhero, the 55-year-old actor has his sights set on two specific characters.
"One of my favorite characters in the [Marvel] universe was Daredevil, and I know it's a tricky one," James told The Nerds of Color (via Comicbook.com). "I think they did a good origin story for it on the television show on Netflix [Marvel's Daredevil], I think they didn't quite get it right in the Ben Affleck version just because they got the suit wrong for him and just made it much too complicated. But I did, certainly in comic form, have a real soft spot for Daredevil. I just thought he was really cool, so that character I love."
Affleck's Matthew Murdock didn't get a whole lot of love from critics, but the film was fairly successful at the box office. The character found much more success over at Netflix where fans were treated to three seasons with Charlie Cox starring as the titular Man Without Fear. The show also helped pave the way for a shared Netflix Marvel universe.
James acknowledged that his age might be an issue, but he offered a rather interesting take on what his version of the character would look like.
"I'm a bit long in the tooth to be playing Daredevil now, so they'd have to do a kind of Logan version of it, of Daredevil at the end [of his career] as a grown man not quite being able to bend his knees at the top of some skyscraper in Hell's Kitchen," he detailed. "And actually using the stick not just to find his way but also to keep him standing. We might have to do that version of it, but I've always loved Daredevil."
James also revealed he would have an interest in playing Blade, but again, it would require some creative thinking.
"I suppose if they did like they did in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse where they have different versions of Spider-Man, if they have different versions of Blade I might get a look in," he said, referring to Sony's hit animated film in which there were multiple versions of Spider-Man from different dimensions. This one is definitely a long shot, however, especially since Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali will take on the title role in the upcoming MCU reboot.
Nevertheless, James said he's excited for the film. "But I think the new version [of Blade] they're gonna do, I'm really looking forward to," he added.
As for the one character James wouldn't want to play, it would be King T'Challa. Although Black Panther is one of James's favorite Marvel characters, he believes it would be disrespectful to assume the role following the death of Chadwick Boseman. The Marvel star shockingly passed away earlier this year after a four-year fight with colon cancer.
"I think, after Chadwick, it's going to be very difficult to do a Black Panther anytime soon. And it would be slightly disrespectful," James explained. "But after Blade, Black Panther was the other character I ran to school screaming, 'Have you seen who they've created? Have you seen who they've created?' And I had a huge affinity for it, and I think that obviously as everybody else does, what Ryan [Coogler, director], and Chadwick, and Danai [Gurira], and everybody involved with it did with Black Panther is monumental. So it's not one I'd go anywhere near because I think Chadwick owns that for the foreseeable future. But those are my favorite characters, Blade, Daredevil, and Black Panther."
Obviously, all of these characters would be longshots for James to be cast in, but it's fun to think what they might look like if the 55-year-old actor had his shot at them. Which of these three would you like to see James play on the big screen?