Pierce Brosnan will join the DC Extended Universe as Doctor Fate

Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan is joining the DCEU as Doctor Fate, his first-ever foray into the world of superherodom, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Brosnan will make his DC debut in Black Adam, which stars Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson as the titular antihero and rival to Zachary Levi’s Shazam. Several people have occupied the role of Doctor Fate throughout the history of DC Comics, but Brosnan will be playing the original: Kent Nelson, who discovered the tomb of the wizard Nabu while on a trip with his archeologist father and was thereafter instructed in the ways of sorcery and magic. He’s also given the golden Helmet of Fate, which is probably the character’s most iconic feature.

Black Adam will also feature the heroes Atom Smasher (Noah Centineo), Hawkman (Aldis Hodge) and Quintessa Swindell (Cyclone). The goal seems to be to use the Black Adam movie to introduce these folks as part of the Justice Society, a pre-Justice League superhero team that takes a multigenerational approach to crime-fighting. Because heaven forbid a superhero movie just be about the adventures of one character without laying the groundwork for some kind of franchise, but never mind that.

Having debuted in the 1940s, Doctor Fate is one of DC’s oldest characters. That said, there’s a good chance some fans might get him confused with Marvel’s Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). That character debuted in the ’60s, but he made it to the big screen first. Also, there’re both magic guys with the word “Doctor” in their names, so some wire-crossing is expected. In the ’90s they even combined into a character named Doctor Strangefate, just to confuse things further.

Ron Livingston replaces Billy Crudup as the Flash’s dad

As long as we’re talking about DC casting news, SyFy Wire reports that actor Ron Livingston (Office Space, Boardwalk Empire) will play Barry Allen’s imprisoned father in the upcoming solo Flash movie. The role was played by Billy Crudup in the recently released Zack Snyder’s Justice League, but Crudup couldn’t return due to scheduling conflicts with the second season of The Morning Show on Apple TV+.

The Flash movie, which will feature Ezra Miller in the title role, is scheduled to come out on November 4, 2022. The Black Adam movie was originally set to come out this year but COVID-19 threw a wrench into filming. There’s no release date announced as yet.

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h/t The A.V. Club