Virtually the entire world surrendered to the charms of Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett as Bill and Frank in the third episode of HBO’s live-action adaptation of the beloved post-apocalyptic video game The Last of Us. The show offered one of the most graceful, albeit incredibly short-lived, representations of queer love on television as fans had to say goodbye almost as soon as they met the couple. Naturally, we all want to see more of Offerman and Bartlett’s electrifying chemistry, and James Gunn may have just placed the perfect opportunity for a reunion on our doorstep.
Call us daydreamers, but Gunn’s announcement of an upcoming The Authority film instantly sent us searching for the perfect casting to play one of the most revolutionary gay couples in comic book history, Midnighter and Apollo. Still reeling from the latest episode of The Last Of Us, there was one pair that instantly came to mind.
Despite being on-and-off-again, depending on the comics, Midnighter and Apollo are devoted to each other in ways that are majorly reminiscent of Frank and Bill’s relationship in The Last Of Us. They get married and adopt a child by the end of volume one of The Authority comics, which will likely serve as the source material for Gunn and Peter Safran’s movie, since it provides the origin story to this offbeat squad. Their relationship is further explored in Steve Orlando’s 2016 limited series Midnighter and Apollo.
Even if they’ve had their fair share of setbacks and arguments, Midnighter and Apollo are each other’s priorities in every trial and tribulation in their comic book run, much like Frank and Bill, who occasionally butt heads but would ultimately die for each other. Additionally, another aspect that made us all fall in love with Frank and Bill’s relationship, was the way the latter — who was always hyper-defensive and aggressive towards his enemies — much like Midnighter, would only show vulnerability and tenderness to his boyfriend.
Bartlett as Apollo is a no-brainer. The White Lotus and Looking star has both the look and the impossible charisma of the sun-powered superhero, who was originally conceived as a spoof of Superman, but eventually evolved far beyond the initial scope. The same thing happened with Midnighter, who is supposed to be a stand-in for Batman, and thus shares a lot of the same stoicism and brooding facade of the famed masked vigilante.
Although Offerman would be an unorthodox pick to play a Batman-type character, the fact that Midnighter is a creative reimagining of the Gotham Knight opens the doors for a world of possibilities. Unless watered-down by the DCU, Midnighter is a generally violent, cynical, and sexual character in the comics, which we can easily imagine Offerman playing to perfection, given the collection of misanthropic-type roles under his belt.
We can all agree that one episode, the duration of which barely surpassed the one-hour mark, is far too short a time to truly do Offerman and Bartlett’s chemistry justice. And, even if their casting as Midnighter and Apollo is highly unlikely, it wouldn’t be the first time the same two people play different couples in different media. If Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling as well as Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan can do it, so can they.
