Giancarlo Esposito is a man who knows his way around starring in popular projects, from his time as Gus Fring in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, to bringing Moff Gideon to life in The Mandalorian’s first three seasons. He even has various types of superhero media experience under his belt, including playing Stan Edgar in The Boys, but one thing the actor still has yet to do is star in anything live-action for Marvel or DC. But that may change, as in addition to confirming last year that he’s had talks with Marvel, it looks like Esposito may also be in the running for a DC movie too.
While appearing at Comic Con Panamá, Esposito was asked during a Q&A about if he’ll have a chance to appear in any of the upcoming DC movies, and here’s what he said (via @swshriv):
I had been talking to James Gunn about the possibility about being in a movie, so who knows, it could happen soon.
It’s important to note that Giancarlo Esposito isn’t a newbie to DC Comics-related media in general, as Max subscribers can hear him as Lex Luthor on Harley Quinn, and he also voiced Black Spider in the animated movie Batman: Assault on Arkham. Needless to say, though, that starring in a DC movie would be a major step up, and the actor meeting with James Gunn, who co-runs DC Studios with Peter Safran, bodes quite well for that happening. This would also be a great time for Esposito to come on board considering the changing DC landscape.
Once Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom concludes the DC Extended Universe era this December, the new DC Universe will launch with the animated series Creature Commandos sometime in 2024, though both Gunn and Safran consider the franchise’s first movie, 2025’s Superman: Legacy, to be this continuity’s “true beginning.” Other confirmed DC movies on the DC Universe Chapter One slate include The Authority, The Brave and the Bold, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and Swamp Thing. However, we shouldn’t discount the possibility of Esposito becoming involved in one of the TV shows on deck, like Waller, Lanterns, Paradise Lost and Booster Gold.
So there’s no shortage of possibilities for Giancarlo Esposito on the DC table, and from the way he spoke at the convention, it sounds like it’s more a matter of when he’s cast in something DC /Marvel-related rather than if. That being said, the actor also reaffirmed that he’s more interested in playing a superhero rather than a supervillain, so maybe that’s a stipulation either company would have to consider to hire him. Esposito has previously expressed a desire to play Professor X in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it’s unclear if he has a specific DC hero in mind he’d like to play.
Rest assured that if Marvel and/or DC announce that they’re adding Giancarlo Esposito to their talent lineups, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, the actor’s latest movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, is still playing in theaters and will become available to watch digitally starting tomorrow, September 1. His latest TV series, Kaleidoscope, can be streamed with a Netflix subscription.