Four Comic Book Franchise Roles Manu Bennett Could Be Perfect For

Above is an image of Aussie actor Manu Bennett performing the Haka with fellow actor Jason Momoa. It's a cool picture for a couple of reasons, it establishes Manu's Maori background and he's posing with an actor with a career I see him paralleling very soon.

Jason recently became Warner Bros' Aquaman in a multi-picture deal which includes Batman v Superman, Justice League Part 1-2 and his own Aquaman film.

I have a feeling Manu is going to be in this position very soon and could end-up reading for some big franchise roles. Thanks in part to playing Azog The Defiler in the Hobbit Trilogy and becoming a standout on CW's Arrow as Slade Wilson aka Deathstroke.

It's likely impossible to see the actor reprise that role in Zack Snyder's DC Comics cinematic universe. Since we've heard from studio heads that the TV and film universes are indeed separate entities. Even though David Goyer had been developing a Deathstroke film for the studio, it's very unlikely that role will go to Manu.

This just means Bennett could be open for a whole bunch of franchise comic book roles. I'm sure there will be a point where Fox, Marvel Studios and Warner Bros. could all be courting the charismatic Aussie. We saw a similar thing go down for Dwayne Johnson and Jason Momoa when they suddenly started landing on studio radars.

Which comic book franchise roles do I think Manu is best suited for?

CABLE:

Cable is a character known for his bulked-up stature which fits the bill for Manu. Not to mention his use of weapons that Bennett has lots of experience with. Having actors like Stephen Lang and Dwayne Johnson in the mix for fan campaigns it's more likely producers will look elsewhere. If fans can deal with Johnson playing Nathan Summers then they should be okay with Bennett playing him.

We've been hearing for years that X-Men producers are looking to explore ways to include Cable into the X-Men universe. While it's possible they could have him apart of X-Men Apocalypse, it's likely there might be too many things going on to bring back time-travel.

Jeff Wadlow's X-Force is seemingly the place for a solo Cable film which could see him founding or leading the covert team of mutants. Wadlow has said in the past Cable is a strong candidate for the film. However, other X-Men movies like Deadpool could leave the door open for cameos and supporting roles for him as well.

Fox could also just randomly announce a solo Cable film like they recently did with Channing Tatum's Gambit movie.

LOBO:

Trust me Warner Bros. will likely have eyes on Manu for something cinematic in the future. The one role I think could be a good fit is alien bounty hunter Lobo. An anti-hero biker character that peeked the interest in Jason Momoa before announcing he landed the Aquaman role.

Warner Bros has been developing a Lobo movie for ages. That was until DC Entertainment froze all the DC film projects, to pursue their own cinematic universe. Director Guy Ritchie would eventually leave Lobo to make The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and is now working on Knights of The Roundtable.

Actors such as Clancy Brown and Jeffrey Dean Morgan had been in talks with producer Joel Silver for the role. Jeffery Dean Morgan going so far as to do camera tests in costume but would later take the role of Thomas Wayne in Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman. Giving the impression he wouldn't be going back to Lobo anytime soon.

Other actors such as Dwayne Johnson and Jason Momoa were thought to be linked because of their connections to possibly taking DC roles. It was later confirmed that Johnson would be playing Black Adam in Shazam and Momoa would be playing Aquaman in a bunch of movies including a solo film.

There had been speculation the character was going to be cast in either Batman v Superman or Justice League because of old Justice League script outlines including Lobo as a possible villain. It remains to be seen if the alien bounty-hunter ends up a villain before his solo outing.



San Andreas director Brad Peyton was recently tasked to develop a new version of the film but there hasn't been any updates since his announced involvement.

PUNISHER:

I've been kind of playing around in my head who could be best for this role in a reboot and luckily a lot of actors could play Frank Castle. My wish-list includes latino actors Edgar Ramirez (Zero Dark Thirty, Domino, Bourne Ultimatum) and Pablo Pascal (Game of Thrones). This could also be another gun-play character Bennett would be perfect for.

Marvel got the Punisher rights back that had been held by Lionsgate. The company has been sitting on the franchise but it's possible they could pursue a television series focusing on Frank Castle. Fox had commissioned a pilot for series but that didn't come together and it just vanished.

Marvel has been mainly focusing on family friendly entertainment when it comes to their film slate. This doesn't mean Marvel won't do something with the character sometime in the future. They could always make a Netflix series or film, the latter hasn't been talked about but could happen in the future. The studio producing low-budget R rated films could help balance the risk.

Rumblings had been circling that Marvel could put together a Punisher series at some point. Some believe it could be a strong candidate for the second wave shows for Netflix, but it sounds like the four shows already setup could get multiple seasons. A couple of people have suggested taking it to AMC or FXX because of it's violent content, but Netflix seems to do fine with material like that airing shows like House of Cards and Marco Polo.

Punisher has a lot of options if Marvel does decide on bringing him back to the big or small screen.

There has been interest from Marvel screenwriter Drew Pearce (Runaways, Iron Man 3) to get involved with a Punisher short which could lead to a series, perhaps on Netflix. Drew wrote and directed All Hail The King, a short which focused on Seagate Prison (connected to both Ant-Man and Luke Cage) revealing the existence of the real Mandarin.



Another interested party includes Knights of Badassdom and Everly director Joe Lynch stating on Twitter he'd love a crack at Castle. Lynch made his own Marvel short film entitled Truth In Journalism which focused on a dark version of Spider-Man villain Venom which was set in the "bootleg" Marvel universe.



I'd also like to see John Wick director Chad Stahelski considered as well. Keanu Reeves ended-up in the mix for Doctor Strange because of the deserved buzz the film received during early festival runs. Marvel's Kevin Feige showed-up to a public screening of the film which seemed to impress bloggers who attended it.

NAMOR:

Wouldn't it be wild if Marvel Studios or in partnership with Universal/Legendary Pictures did end-up making that Sub-Mariner film?

Manu's previous work experience with sword swinging characters in Spartacus and Hobbit would come into play becoming the Marvel opposite to Momoa's Aquaman. This could be a very fun character for Bennett since Namor has played both hero and antagonist in the comics.

Universal's Namor film hasn't been talked about in a very long time and the assumption is it's stuck in development limbo. Shocking, since the huge wave of popularity with Marvel films you'd think the studio would dust it off and try to put it back into production.

We know that Universal had plans on having Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3, Surrogates) direct it but the studio dropped the project entirely at some point. Jason Statham, the former professional diver turned action star had some interest in the project but was never formally offered the role.

I'm still a bit fuzzy on the actual rights agreement with Universal but if it's similar to Hulk. Marvel could be able to use him in a supporting role, similar to Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner in Avengers installments. If a new solo Hulk film was made by Marvel it's understood Universal would be involved in some way. Their deal for Namor could be the same if it even still exits.

Latino Review heard a rumor back in May of last year that a mystery Legendary Pictures film set for release in November 2016 could be a Marvel property. It's likely that the film they were talking about was actually either The Great Wall or Kong: Skull Island as both were set for that month. Skull Island recently moving it's release from early November to March 2017 to avoid Marvel's Doctor Strange.

Although, Latino Review felt confident in the story at the time.

If Marvel could be able to still use Namor he could become apart of the Inhumans storyline or even involved with Captain America: Civil War. As Namor is the original mutant character, he could be altered to become an inhuman instead to avoid conflict with the X-Men rights. Marvel is already seemingly giving mutants Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch new origins to include them into the MCU.

We know that even though Incredible Hulk was apart of the Universal/Marvel deal, Edward Norton was able to reprise the role in Avengers. Norton just happened to be apart of a bunch behind the scenes issues along with not promoting the film leading to his recasting. It's very possible if someone is cast as Prince Namor, they could play the role in both Universal and Marvel feature films. Allowing the actor to crossover in a bunch of different films without getting entangled with the rights issues.

SPECULATION: Is This Mystery Mutant From X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Footage Cable Played By Josh Helman?

The picture above is from leaked footage of the teaser for X-Men Days of Future Past. There are some interesting first looks in including X-Force member Warpath. A character that could easily jump into the lineup for Jeff Wadlow's X-Force film which he's currently writing. However, while a majority of the mutants are known in the film one makes a surprise appearance. While the footage is too blurry to make who the actor is, it's very likely it could be Daniel Cudmore (Colossus).

However, the costume doesn't match-up with the promo image of Colossus which was released recently. My theory is this could actually be Australian actor Josh Helman (The Pacific) who was recently cast in the film. Leading me to believe he just might be playing Nathan Summers (better known as Cable), as the mutant is important of to be among other well known ones. The idea stems from this part of the footage being from the future era and is alongside Bishop. His costume has a similar look to one of Cable's, notice the yellow stripes. Also, that Cable is rumored to be lead character of the X-Force film and would need to be introduced to connect the film to the established X-Men franchise.

Rob Liefeld Calls On Dwayne Johnson To Play Cable In X-FORCE

Ahead of 20th Century Fox's Comic-Con announcement that they'll be making an X-Force film with Jeff Wadlow scripting. The comic's creator Rob Liefeld has been quite vocal online about the project. Revealing recently that Cable and Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) would be the focus of the film. He's gone to Twitter again and called out Dwayne Johnson to consider taking the role of Cable.

Johnson has had a massive year earning close to a billion dollars in box office thanks to G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Fast And Furious 6. Making him a bankable choice to take a superhero role. He's currently shooting Hercules and might be involved with G.I. Joe 3 down the line. There had also been talk of possibly taking on a villain role in the Terminator reboot. Personally, I'd rather see Dwayne tackle his own Marvel franchise with X-Force than playing a character like Luke Cage. Johnson actually had to turn down the part of Drax in Guardians of The Galaxy because of his commitments to Hercules.

Hey @TheRock I'm throwing Cable out there once again. Marvel doesn't have a character this big left in their catalogue. 5 million copies!
— robertliefeld (@robertliefeld) July 15, 2013

Rob Liefeld Says Cable And Deadpool Will Be In X-FORCE, Confirms Ryan Reynolds?

Rob Liefeld the creator of Marvel's X-Force along with characters such as Cable and Deadpool tells ComicBook (via CBM) his creations will be involved in the film. What that will look like in the long run is yet to be seen since there are other fan favorite characters from the X-Force lineup. It remains to be seen which other members of the X-Force team will make it into the film. However, it might be a sure bet that Domino will be in there as she is also a Liefeld creation and staple character of the series.

“I can pretty much eliminate some sites suggestion that the Milligan X-Statix stuff is in the mix. An X-Force film is Cable. Is Deadpool.”

Liefeld also Tweeted this concerning casting for the film “Ryan Reynolds IS DEADPOOL! Cable could be many…”. Giving the impression that Ryan Reynolds will indeed be apart of the film. The Deadpool film might lead into X-Force or it might be delayed even more to push X-Force forward first to gather more audience awareness for Deadpool.

X-MEN Spinoff X-FORCE In The Works As Jeff Wadlow Signs On To Write And Possibly Direct, Will Cable Be The Focus?

THR confirms rumblings the Fox is looking to announce an X-Force film at Comic-Con. They add that Kick-Ass 2 director Jeff Wadlow has been hired to script the X-Men spinoff and could even direct it. Wadlow's connection to Matthew Vaughn (director of First Class and producer of Fantastic Four reboot) and Mark Millar (creator of Kick-Ass and Fox's Marvel consultant) might have nudged the studio to select him.

There's no word on the lineup which has been changed over the years. Yet, there has been talk Fox is looking for a way to introduce a film focusing on Cable and is a staple of the comics. The more recent incarnation of the group includes Wolverine, Domino, Psylocke, Archangel, Deadpool, Warpath, X-23 and Fantomax. I would assume that Fox wants to connect these franchises together and would like see Wolverine/Deadpool involved in some way. While Jeff is writing this, I'd like see Matthew Vaughn return to the X-Men franchise and be allowed to have his own set of mutants to play with.

Sentinels, Cable And Bishop Possible Additions To X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST?

Mark Millar has spoken to SFX (via CBM) about the upcoming production of X-Men: Days of Future Past. Millar will tag-along as Fox's new creative head on their Marvel films with Matthew Vaughn (First Class, Layer Cake, Stardust, Kick-Ass) heading up the film's direction. The pair previously worked together on Kick-Ass and have another batch of film projects in development. He states that the film will be bigger and better, not mention comparing it to Terminator.

"[Matthew] Vaughn is going for a big sci-fi style thing with X-Men: Days of Future Past....(it's) X-Men meets The Terminator. You've got robots, you've got time travel, you've got superheroes - it's got everything in one film. He also said that it is "no spoiler on [his] part" to say that the film goes into an apocalyptic future. Cost-wise it's going to go up, and ambitious-wise it's gone up. But Vaughn can handle it. Vaughn made Kick-Ass for $28 million." 

The Terminator part of the quote gives me the impression besides sentinels we could also be seeing Cable and Bishop finally making their debut. Bishop had been set back in time to assassinate Xavier (McAvoy) preventing a mutant holocaust in the distant future. Millar seemingly confirms the time-travelling and robots (Sentinels) aspect of the film. Not to mention that both Cable and Bishop are the best known characters sent from the future, it's easy to believe they'll be the new mutant additions.

Marvel Unwilling To Create Any New X-Men Characters Because Of Fox?

Ever since Marvel Studios started making their own films and subsequently bought by Disney there seems to be tension between between Marvel and other rights holders. Rob Liefeld in an extensive  interview with WordBallon points out that Marvel hasn't created any new X-Men characters and it's not based on laziness. The comic book writer/creator is responsible for giving birth to Cable, Deadpool, Domino, Feral and X-Force. So when he talks X-Men he does have insider information. He's also been in active talks with 20th Century Fox over the Deadpool movie and possibly adding Cable to the X-Men films. 

Liefeld states Marvel/Disney isn't in the business of creating characters only to hand them over to 20th Century Fox for new additions to their films. Currently the studio holds the film rights to all the characters in the X-Men universe (hero and villains) which is an extensive group. I'm not sure if that also means that Fox gains rights to new characters as they are introduced in the comics. It's further pointed out that Marvel holds the toy rights to X-Men First Class but didn't release any over the summer when it was released. Since they would have competed with Captain America and Thor toys which Marvel gets a bigger profit from. He's pointing out Marvel is undercutting Fox's growth of their X-Men franchise where they can.

My take is that Marvel is smart by not helping Fox by handing over new characters bound by an old rights deal. They could feel the deal was unfair since it was drawn up during Marvel's financial troubles during the 90's and might not have predicted the future of the company. Hopefully there will be a way to wiggle the film rights back to Marvel other than cutting a billion dollar cheque which Rob suggests. I feel when the studio uses up all the villains they'll end up selling the rights back. The X-Men universe doesn't have a lot of film-friendly villains which must be annoying for Fox.

EDITORIAL: First Class A New X-Men Franchise For Fox?

I believe that one of the biggest reasons for 20th Century Fox making X-Men First Class is to branch out their X-Men universe. Creating a side-franchise for the studio since they could very well lose the rights to their Marvel properties like Daredevil and The Fantastic Four. The Wolverine and Deadpool have the greatest potential as successful spin-offs for Fox. The First Class films could help expand the X-Men universe while being a great place to insert their laundry list of unused mutants and origin stories.

So why do I believe that X-Men First Class is going become it's own franchise?  Fox more than likely has a plan for showing off more origins like ones for Jean, Scott, Storm and Gambit in future films. It's not financially sound to go and make solo origin films for all of these characters. Including their origins slowly in a First Class franchise makes more sense. It's also a perfect reason to have period based comic book films. While this film is set in the 60's the next film could be in the 70's. Still keeping it's Bond style of globetrotting with elaborate sets and costumes. Giving us fresh takes on the genre by changing up the eras. 

One of the biggest issues for fans was the exclusion of Jean and Scott. Yet if they were going by previous films neither would have been born when Xavier was young. Since they've sort of killed off both Scott and Jean it would make sense to feature their origin stories in a sequel.

It made sense for the first movie to focus on the older characters like Xavier, Magneto, Beast, Emma Frost and Mystique. The studio went on to use story elements from the Magento and Mystique (rumored) origin films. While it's unlikely the characters will now get their own spin-offs they could return for sequels. January Jones recently said she would like to return for another film. So it's possible they've locked in the actors for more movies.

Aaron Johnson had been rumored for the role of Cyclops and Gambit so it's possible they've already set things in motion with a cameo. Stephen Lang (Avatar, Conan) would love to play the role of Cable and could also be involved in any of the future X-Men films.

There had been talk of making a New Mutants/X-Force film but I wouldn't be surprised to see it and the members (Cable) being absorbed into a second movie. Yet you never know it could also be used in X-Men 4 which Bryan Singer is likely to direct when he is finished with Jack The Giant Killer.

Granted we haven't even seen a trailer yet but it's very possible if the movie does well this summer we could see more of these prequels.


Would You Like More X-Men Origin Stories Used In First Class 2? Should Cyclops, Jean, Storm, Cable and Gambit Be Featured In The Prequels? Leave Your Comments!

Stephen Lang Talks Cable

ScreenRant was able to talk with actor Stephen Lang (Avatar, Conan, Public Enemies) at the New York Comic-Con about fans wanting him to play the X-Men's Cable. Interesting enough he knows about the rumor and seems up for it if offered.

“One of boys mentioned to me – he says, ‘Hey pops, they’re talking about you for Cable,’ and I said ‘Who would that be?’ and so he Googled him for me and I saw him and I thought ‘Oh wow, he’s cool.’"

“Yes, I’m there. [Laughter] Sure, why not. I’d be happy to. You read it all, everything that comes across. And if it makes sense, if it’s a cool character, if it’s a theme you want to explore…sure.”

There had been talk that 20th Century Fox wanted to use Cable in future films.Yet it doesn't seem like he'll be in Deadpool, X-Men First Class or even Wolverine 2. I have to assume their plans involve a solo film. Lang is apart of the biggest film of all time and it just happened to be from Fox. If we were ever going to see Stephen Lang kick-ass in his own film Cable would be it. New Mutants is one film that Fox is trying to develop and Cable was it's leader. It just depends if they want to make another X-Men clone or something more in the realm of a futuristic science fiction superhero film.

What Kind of Movie Should New Mutants/X-Force Be?

Now that X-Men First Class is starting up production and Wolverine 2 set to shoot in the winter. There is still one more promised X-Men project that hasn't begun serious development and that would be New Mutants/X-Force. First Class is opening up doors with it's 6o's set Bond style. So why not try to make X-Force an 80's style action film? While I do enjoy the original films and I'm now beyond excited for First Class due in part to Matthew Vaughn's involvement and it's amazing cast. I think moving away from the dry teen drama we saw in original films could help move the story and action to a better place. It could be interesting to see the studio take a grittier direction with their characters.

DIRECTORS:


While Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass) is the only confirmed/hired director at the moment. The fact 20 Century Fox is in talks with both Robert Rodriguez for Deadpool and David Slade (Hard Candy) for Wolverine 2, the next X-Men film could get another great director. My dream would be to see Zack Snyder direct since he was once attached for Wolverine but left to focus on other films. After watching the trailer for Sucker Punch he can make anything visually convincing so it could help the chances of use finally seeing the Sentinels in action. Considering Snyder's work relationship with Warner Bros. I think it might be difficult for another studio to hire him. He also is currently working on Xerxes which could be his next movie. Daniel Espinosa (Snabba Cash) is an interesting new director he was considered to direct First Class. I think Daniel is another great choice if Fox can get him since he is also in high demand to direct other projects.





STORYLINES:


I'm not that knowledgeable on the history of the X-Force but the majority of new issues seem to be better suited for film than the originals. What I'd like to see is Cable forming a side special-ops unit of the X-Men and is setup for rescues and liberation of captured mutants. It could make for the best use of the Sentinel saga along with the mutant work camps. I could live without Wolverine in the film but it would be nice to see him if only as a supporting character. It's difficult to say if we'll ever see Laura Kinney (X-23) in the films but this could be the right one for her. Just as long as they skip over the cloning it could work.


The other interesting aspect is crossovers. Deadpool is now an active member of the X-Force and could be featured or cameo in the movie. With Ryan's workload it seems unlikely there will be room for a Deadpool sequel anytime soon. A small role in X-Force could keep fans happy if Deadpool is successful. I'd also love to see the lineup involve known characters like Psylocke, Archangel, Domino, Majik, Warpath and Boom Boom.


CASTING THOUGHTS:


Stephen Lang (Avatar) as Nathan Summers (Cable)


Rebecca Hall (The Town, Prestige) as Elisabeth Braddock (Psylocke)


Cillian Murphy (Inception) as Archangel


Maggie Siff (Mad Men, Sons of Anarchy) as Neena Thurman (Domino)


Rudy Youngblood (Apocalypto) as James Proudstar (Warpath)


Lyndsy Fonseca (Kick-Ass) as Laura Kinney (X-23)


Brie Larson (Scott Pilgrim) as Tabitha Smith (Boom Boom)


Beau Garrett (Tron Legacy) as Illyana Rasputin (Magik)

RUMOR: Fox Developing Their Own Marvel Film Universe?

There is talk circling Twitter today (via Poni_Boy from CBM) that 20th Century Fox is considering their own Marvel film universe. This could mean that in future films we could see the X-Men/X-Force/Deadpool interacting with Daredevil, Elektra, Silver Surfer or the Fantastic Four. It would make sense since they are somewhat rebooting the X-Men franchise with First Class. There are also planned reboots of both Daredevil and Fantastic Four. Even Deadpool will get a complete character reboot in the upcoming spin-off. I'd like to think somehow Bryan Singer could be involved in creative/consulting/producing role with these projects to tie them together. The studio is flush with money from Avatar and could take a shot similar to what both Marvel Studios and possibly DC Entertainment are attempting with their own superhero universes.

The New Mutants (2012-2013)

During interviews promoting the DVD release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, producer Lauren Shuler Donner talked about future X-Men projects. One that shocked a lot of people was New Mutants, which hasn't even talked about before. Chris Claremont created the original series and featured a younger team of mutants that was also ethically diverse. New Mutants could be a way staying in the X-Men universe but introducing new and exciting characters at the same time. Many characters in past films have felt forced and expanding the characters into new films can give breathing room. Rather than having them as throw away character cameos.


Originally created by Professor X to replace the X-Men. The team would later be led by Cable who is one of the more popular X-Men characters. Donner also had a meeting with Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld mentioning the possible use of Cable in future X-Men films. My assumption is that he could be the main character in the New Mutants movie. He could be explained in X-Men First Class as the son of Scott Summers and Emma Frost. Later teaming up with Deadpool and then eventually creating the New Mutants/X-Force.


I could see Stephen Lang (Avatar) playing the role of Cable. He's got a strong badass presence along with already working with 20th Century Fox. So hopefully the man is on their radar.





I also assume that the more popular characters from New Mutants and X-Force will be in the lineup, rather than the original members. Domino who is Cable's love interest and Warpath being the two I'd hope to see in the film as leads.