Will there be a time when superheroes aren’t quite so in vogue on the big and small screens? Maybe, but we probably still have a while to go. In the meanwhile, there are a lot of comic book heroes and villains out there who have yet to show up onscreen, and it’s probably not a terrible idea for actors to lay claim to some.
Take Kristian Nairn, best known for playing Hodor on Game of Thrones (he’s also in the HBO pirate series Our Flag Means Death). While speaking to ComicBookMovie about his new horror film Unwelcome, he put it out into the universe which super-character he’d like to play.
“I am a huge superhero fan. I have a tattoo of Thor on my arm,” Nairn said. “I’m an original fan from the comics and a big Marvel and DC fan.”
"If we’re going to stick with the types I could play…obviously, they can do anything with CGI these days, but I can’t imagine myself playing the new Wonder Woman [Laughs]. I’d try it! I’d love to play Solomon Grundy. I’ve got the hair and dialogue down. I’d love to. We’ll see what happens. Who knows? I’m putting it out there. Hey, [James Gunn]!"
Solomon Grundy is a reanimated corpse who mainly communicates through grunts and groans. As Hodor, Nairn had to be expressive even though he only had one word in his vocabulary, so he’s got that part down. Grundy is also a huge guy who’s taken on everyone from Batman to Superman to the Green Lantern. At 6’10”, Nairn has that part down, as well.
James Gunn and Peter Safran are currently building out the new DC Universe of movies. They could do worse than to give Nairn a call. And Nairn isn’t the only actor thinking of who they might be able to play…
Vecna actor from Stranger Things wants to play Batman villain the Scarecrow
Another perfect bit of self-casting came from Jame Campbell Bower, best known for playing inter-dimensional villain Vecna on Stranger Things. Appearing on the Geek House Show, Campbell was asked what comic book character he’d like to bring to life on the big screen.
“There’s been a lot of chatter about Scarecrow recently…” Campbell said. “That would be cool. To do that, that would be fun. Something weird and spooky like that, that would be great!”
The Scarecrow is a Batman villain who uses a fear toxin to drive his victims mad; he was played by Cillian Murphy in Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies. Campbell is long, lanky and knows how to play creepy, so this would be perfect.
What does the future of the DC Universe hold? Hopefully these guys.
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