Black Panther star would love to play Batman in James Gunn's DCU: "Start that campaign"

Black Panther actor Winston Duke has thrown his name in contention to play Batman in James Gunn’s DCU. The Fall Guy star has previously voiced the character in the Batman Unburied podcast and would love to bring Bruce Wayne to live-action. 

"Listen, man, can you start that [campaign]?," he laughingly told Slash Film when they asked if he was keen. "I would say I challenge you to get on all these socials and push for me. Get your community. I would love to. I would love to do that as Batman. I'd love any opportunity to explore new characters and to change narratives around some of these entrenched ideas of how these characters are supposed to look, sound, and perform. I'm all for it."

Created by David S. Goyer, Batman Unburied was a superhero audio drama created by DC telling a new story set in the superhero’s world. It saw Gotham in peril as a serial killer known as The Harvester terrorized citizens with no Batman to defend them. This is because Bruce Wayne has no memory of being the Caped Crusader at all.

Duke, who is probably best known for playing M'Baku in the MCU, isn’t the only actor who has said he’d love to play the DC hero. Reacher star Alan Ritchson previously said he’d "love" to be considered, while Jake Gyllenhaal admitted it would be an honor after he lost out on the role to Christian Bale previously. 

No major details have been confirmed for The Brave and the Bold yet, which is the DCU’s reintroduction of Batman. Currently, Gunn and Peter Safran are busy working on their first projects in DCU: Chapter One, including Superman, Supergirl, and Creature Commandos. 

For more on DC, here are our guides to all of the upcoming DC movies and shows we know about and our breakdown of how to watch the DC movies in order.