Black Panther actor Winston Duke wants to be a superhero in James Gunn's DC Universe

Black Panther actor Winston Duke wowed audiences when he played M'Baku in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it looks like he wants to switch sides to play DC's Caped Crusader as well. In an interview with Slash Film, the actor stated that he would "love" to play Batman for James Gunn's DC Universe and urged his fans to push the narrative of him starring as the character.

DC Studios is currently developing a new Batman film called The Brave and the Bold, and with no star attached, Winston Duke could make for a candidate too as the actor already has experience portraying the character in an audio series.

The Black Panther actor has recently been promoting his new film The Fall Guy.

---

Black Panther star Winston Duke wants to play Batman in live-action

The Black Panther star already has played Batman once in the Batman: Unburied audio series on Spotify, but it looks like Duke is all ready to make a jump to live-action and bring Bruce Wayne to life in the current universe that is being spearheaded by James Gunn, the president of DC Studios.

In the interview, he said:

"Listen, man, can you start that [campaign]?"

He continued:

"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, 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."

Currently, James Gunn's DC Universe is developing a Batman film titled The Brave and the Bold that is set to focus on Batman's relationship with his son Damian Wayne who also becomes Robin. The Flash director Andy Muschietti is reported to direct it, but it currently has no release date or stars attached to it

However, it is a bit interesting that the Black Panther star would want to star as Batman given that T'Challa in the comics is quite judgemental of superheroes in general and never trusts anyone easily.

Especially a character like Batman, the King of Wakanda would surely have reservations about him given the Caped Crusader always likes being a step ahead of everyone which would make him a formidable foe.

---

Exploring the Black Panther star's previous run as Batman

Following his role as M'Baku in Black Panther, Winston Duke was cast as Bruce Wayne in the audio series titled Batman: Unburied. The series provided a different take on Batman, focused more on the psyche of Bruce Wayne after he wakes up and has no memory of being the Dark Knight.

The series sees him be a forensic pathologist and with the new villain called the Harvester arriving in Gotham City, Bruce starts investigating the dead bodies of his victims.

The story also sees Thomas Wayne, voiced by Lance Reddick, be alive and also be the head of the Gotham City Hospital. Various other characters like The Riddler, Barbara Gordon, and more appear as well.

Winston Duke can be seen next starring alongside Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt in the film The Fall Guy, which is currently playing in theatres right now.