Denzel Washington has long since secured legendary status as one of the greatest actors to ever grace the big screen, and even at 65 years old he remains one of the most consistent names in the business that rarely lends his talents to a bad movie. He’s also one of the very few stars in the brand-focused era we live in that can sell almost any project to audiences based on his presence alone.
While the two-time Academy Award winner is no stranger to the action genre, he’s never been interested in the franchise business, with The Equalizer 2 marking the first and so far only sequel of his career. Meanwhile, he’s also avoided comic book movies entirely with the exception of 2013’s largely forgotten 2 Guns.
However, after previously refusing to rule out starring in a superhero blockbuster, we’re now hearing that he’s being eyed for a villainous role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While previous rumors had linked him to Magneto, from our understanding, the X-Men villain looks like he’ll end up being played by Breaking Bad‘s Giancarlo Esposito instead.
As such, our sources – the same ones who told us Han would return in Fast & Furious 9 and an Extraction sequel is in the works, both of which were correct – now say that Washington is instead being eyed for Diamondback. That isn’t the only role he’s being looked at for, but either way, Marvel are said to be keen to have the actor involved with the franchise.
Of course, Diamondback previously appeared in Netflix’s Luke Cage, although the character’s comic book history has seen him go up against all of the Defenders at various points, as well as other heroes like Spider-Man. While it isn’t clear where exactly in the MCU he might turn up, if the opportunity arises for Marvel to cast a star of Denzel Washington‘s magnitude in any of their upcoming movies, then they’d be foolish not to try and grab it with both hands.
