Joining up with a superhero movie seems to be the cool thing to do in Hollywood. I mean, even Oscar winners like Jared Leto and Cate Blanchett are rolling up their sleeves and joining the genre. So why has one person refused to join the blockbuster bandwagon? Why won’t Matt Damon strap on a pair of tights?
Thankfully, The Irish Examiner caught up with Damon during the world premiere of Jason Bourne. There, Damon was asked what could bring him into the superhero fold.
“I’d consider anything with the right director, but I can’t imagine there are any superheroes left, I think they’re all taken at this moment.”
Someone needs to remind Damon that there’s an endless supply of playable characters. Both DC and Marvel have a catalog of characters that could fill movies for the next several millennia. Perhaps Damon just needs some motivation, like an old friend who can walk him through the whole superhero movie process. An old friend like… Ben Affleck!
“If he (Ben) was directing me, I’d jump on it in a New York minute. I’d love to work with Ben. The problem with Ben is every time he directs a movie, he gives himself the best role in it, so until he’s willing to give up the best role to one of his friends, we’re not going to get on with it.”
Hmm… Well, if I recall correctly, Affleck won plenty of praise for his portrayal of Bruce Wayne (despite mixed reviews for the movie Batman V Superman). Not only has he reimagined the character, he is in full control of The Caped Crusader for the foreseeable future. Ben is even directing the next solo Batman film. That seems like the perfect opportunity for Matt Damon to make his super-debut.
The stars appear to be aligning for Matt Damon to follow in the footsteps of other Oscar nominated actors entering either the MCU or DCEU. Now it’s all about whittling down the list of characters, deciding on five that would be perfect for an actor such as Damon. Here are just a few that could interest him enough to give the genre a go.
-Red Hood
If rumors prove true, then the main antagonist for the Affleck-led Batman solo film will be The Red Hood. So let’s make things interesting by using the Jason Todd incarnation of the character. We’ve seen Robin’s costume in Batman v Superman, now we can see what happened to Bruce Wayne’s former sidekick when he transformed into the leader of The Red Hood Gang. I mean, imagine former friends Bruce and Jason being portrayed by real life friends Ben and Matt. This thing practically writes itself!
-The Riddler
So maybe Damon wants to play a more prolific character. Why not hand him the reins of Edward Nigma? A Damon-ified version of The Riddler would be a real change of direction from the campy performance of Jim Carrey. Plus, we’ve seen Damon tackle the role of a psychopathic mastermind before in The Talented Mr. Ripley. He could be the best way to deliver a creepy, grounded version of the character that would fit in with the Gothic tones of the DCEU.
-Nightwing
Now who said Damon had to be playing a villain? Sure, it would be fun to have B.F.F.’s Damon and Affleck fight each other, but what if they teamed up instead? Imagine Damon playing the former O.G. Robin turned Nightwing, returning to Gotham to help Batman. Who knows, perhaps playing Nightwing could lead to Damon appearing in his own spinoff or other DC-based movies, including a future Suicide Squad sequel. If the rumblings are true that Jared Leto’s Joker is actually a psychotic version of Jason Todd, then a showdown of former Bat protégés – played by Oscar-caliber actors – is something we need to see!
-Adam Warlock
Well, what if Damon is more of a Marvel guy than a DC one? There needs to be a character he can make his own, so why not Adam Warlock? His cocoon was already seen in Guardians of the Galaxy, so he will be showing up eventually (probably to take out a certain Mad Titan looking to cause trouble). Imagine if at the end of Guardians Vol. 2 we see Matt Damon emerge. He did say he’d consider doing a superhero movie with the right director and James Gunn could be that man. He did get Glenn Close, John C. Reilly, Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russel into his MCU movies, so Damon could be the next Oscar-worthy actor on his list! (Plus Damon would look pretty good holding the Infinity Gauntlet!)
So, what do you think? Will Matt Damon ever show up in a superhero movie? And if he does… what character would you like to see him play?
