During his six-decade-long career, Kurt Russell’s taken a flamethrower to The Thing, battled through a lawless New York, and even donned Santa’s iconic red suit. Still, the veteran actor’s ready to take on his greatest challenge yet, Marlon Brando’s legacy.
Specifically, Russell is reportedly keen to get involved with James Gunn’s burgeoning DCU and wants to play Clark Kent’s bio-daddy Jor-El in Superman Legacy. Jor-el was last played by one of the best actors of his day, Marlon Brando, so Russell would have some pretty big shoes to fill, but he’s not afraid of the challenge.
“Yeah! Yeah, I’ll take on Marlon Brando!” Russell told ComicBook.com, “I mean, there was something awesome about the way he was just looking around – I don’t care that he was looking at his lines – he’s crazy-great to watch!”
While the challenge of taking on Brando’s role might appeal to Russell (Brando famously played the DC character Superman 1 and 2, then archive footage of him was used in Superman Returns), it seems like Gunn is the real reason he wants to get involved.
“You know what,” he explained we don’t know a lot about Jor-El. Maybe there’s a version… I never heard this, so I don’t know. James Gunn was a blast to work with, though, so you never know.”So, would Russell make a good Jor-El? Of course, he would. We’d watch the Big Trouble in Little China star paint walls white if he put it in theaters.
Seriously, though, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 proves that Russell and Gunn work very well together. The pair managed to breathe some real life into Ego, making him more than just a two-dimensional villain during a period when a lot of Marvel villains were rightly criticized for feeling flat.
We’ll have to wait for more news on the Superman Legacy cast, but hopefully, Gunn can find a role for Russell in one of his upcoming DC movies. In the meantime, why not read our guide explaining how to watch all the DC movies in order? We’ve also got articles on all of Gunn’s Chapter 1: Gods and Monster films and shows, where you can learn all about the Swamp Thing release date, The Brave and the Bold release date, and more.