Josh Hutcherson’s new DC role looks like a perfect secret weapon of sorts for the DC Universe to break out in the future, so long as the franchise plays its cards just right. DC’s on-screen empire has seen a wide range of famous actors enter its halls, and an equally wide range of actors become famous for their roles as one of DC’s major heroes or villains in equal measure.
Having already famous actors take on superhero and supervillain roles is often one of the most fascinating parts of DC’s various movie and show enterprises, as this can often align with someone’s pre-existing acting history – as Christian Bale had leading action hero experience prior to his role as The Dark Knight‘s Batman, for example – or come as a less conventional success story.
The DCU timeline already includes plenty of examples of famous actors taking on major DC roles, with Viola Davis’ Amanda Waller, Jason Momoa’s Lobo, and John Cena’s Peacemaker being but a few examples of this. The latest reveals for the DCU suggest Josh Hutcherson is also being added to this extensive cast list, which is promising in more ways than one for the franchise’s film future.
Josh Hutcherson’s DC Casting Is Perfect For The DCU’s Film Future
While speaking with IGN about DC Studios’ plans following Warner Bros. being acquired by Skydance, DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran delved into much of the lineup release-wise going forward, confirming the intention still for things to continue as previously laid out. Notably, this included mention of two notable castings, as Safran mentioned that Josh Hutcherson has been cast as Mister Miracle for DC’s upcoming animated show focused on the character, alongside Mackenzie Davis as Big Barda.
Of course, it is still possible that Hutcherson and Davis will only be temporary or solely animated castings for DC’s world. However, given James Gunn explicitly referred to the series as a “DCU show” on social media, that animated and live-action actors are set to be effectively identical for the mainline DCU’s releases, and given Hutcherson and Davis seem like stellar candidates for these roles in live-action form too, this seems too good a prospect for the franchise to miss up on when it comes to putting the actors in these roles in the DCU’s live-action movies, too.
Though Davis is a promising prospect in this regard thanks to her own acting talents and history in releases like Station Eleven, Black Mirror, The Martian, and Blade Runner 2049, Josh Hutcherson is notable for the promise he holds in that a long-term DCU role would be his second time having an extended role in a beloved movie franchise that adapts written source material on-screen.
Thanks to his history in the Hunger Games series as Peeta Mellark, one of the franchise’s main characters, Hutcherson is sure to have gained experience in this kind of unique position that would make him uniquely suited to take on a DCU role that sees him also appear in major live-action films.
What DCU Movies Josh Hutcherson’s Mister Miracle Could Appear In First
Given the scope and danger of the threat it seems Man of Tomorrow will see the DCU’s characters contend with, it would make a lot of sense if the decision was made to introduce Mister Miracle and Big Barda in this chapter of the franchise if the intent is to let the two actors play these roles in the main DCU timeline both in live-action and in the animated world.
However, since it seems the animated Mister Miracle show is set to release after Man of Tomorrow in 2028 – and it may be preferable to save the debuts of Scott Free and Barda for their own series – it also wouldn’t be surprising if the two only appear in live-action in 2028 or later.
This is especially true since many optimal live-action introductions would require the DCU’s main story to turn more to space and explore the intergalactic story of the New Gods, which may take some time for the rebooted movie world to delve into, even if it does end up being part of its wider plans.
That said, releases like Supergirl and the Lanterns show do paint an early picture of how a crossover DC movie story could unify the galaxy’s heroes together in a way that would perfectly justify Mister Miracle and Big Barda’s debuts, since the DCU has increasingly fleshed out the far-flung corners of the franchise.
