Superman‘s journey on the big screen is currently at a crossroads. With Henry Cavill’s future in the DCEU under question, Warner Bros. is reportedly struggling to find a way of making the Man of Steel “relevant” again. One option we know they’ve considered is recasting the character with an African-American actor in the role. Michael B. Jordan was in talks, but ultimately passed. Another name who’s open to the idea, though, is Aquaman‘s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
Abdul-Mateen’s star is certainly on the rise, so could taking on the most iconic superhero on the planet be on the cards for him? In an interview with Variety, he was fielded this question and the Black Manta actor admitted that he’d “definitely” be willing to discuss it if the offer ever came up.
“I have Black Manta going on, but if they want to have more conversations, I’ll definitely come to the table and see what we could do.”
After his villainous turn in Aquaman and his key role in HBO’s Watchmen TV series, Abdul-Mateen is quickly becoming something of a DC icon. And though he’s not ruling out playing any further characters in the comic book universe, the star did say that he thinks he should probably concentrate on working in other genres from now on.
“I do need to fill up my slate with some regular dudes without powers, who can figure out their problems without access of superhero powers.”
Of course, Aquaman‘s post-credits scene heavily suggests he’ll be back for revenge on Arthur Curry in the sequel and what’s more, Abdul-Mateen is set to play one of the leads in The Matrix 4, very possibly as a young Morpheus. Given these, and various other projects on his slate, it’s probably unlikely that he’ll be free enough to take on Superman. Not to mention that Cavill still believes that he’s the current occupant of the part. But for now, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens next for the Man of Tomorrow.
