Actor Winston Duke portrayed M’Baku in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Black Panther” and voiced Batman in “Batman Unburied” (2022).
Actor Winston Duke of Black Panther has expressed interest in playing Batman in the DC Universe, pointing to his training from earlier MCU parts.
James Gunn envisions the first phase of the DC Universe as centered around Andy Muschietti’s Batman movie, “The Brave and the Bold,” which will introduce a new live-action version of the character in the DCU.
“Black Panther” actor Winston Duke indicated in an interview with SlashFilm that he would like to portray Batman in the DC Universe.
Duke said during “The Fall Guy” marketing that he wanted to aggressively pursue the part of the Dark Knight: “Listen, man, can you start that [campaign]? I would say to promote for me on all of these social media sites. Learn your neighborhood. Would be wonderful to. I would so much like to play Batman. Any chance to delve into other personalities and upend some of these deeply ingrained notions of what these characters should look, sound, and act like would be wonderful. That’s great with me.” The first person of colour to play Batman in the animated series “Future State: The Next Batman” was Tim Fox.
Winston Duke would be the first person of color to play Batman in a live-action version if he were to land the part.
It is currently unknown who will play the lead in “The Brave and the Bold”.
Many actors have talked about playing Batman, including Jensen Ackles from “The Boys,” Jake Gyllenhaal from “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” and Alan Ritchson, a former cast member of “Titans.”
In the audio drama podcast “Batman Unburied,” Duke also portrayed Batman.
Among Duke’s well-known performances are those of M’Baku in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Black Panther,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” “Avengers: Endgame,” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” In addition, he has played the action-oriented stunt coordinator in “Person of Interest,” “Us,” and David Leitch’s “The Fall Guy” (2024).
Playing Batman would provide Winston Duke the chance to portray another more complex comic book character in James Gunn’s DC Universe.