Well fans… the world-building is going full speed ahead in Zack Snyder’s upcoming sequel to the Man of Steel. We already knew that we would be getting Batman and Wonder Woman, played by Ben Affleck and Gal Gadot respectively, in supporting roles. The rabbit hole is getting even deeper folks. Today Variety announced (via CBM) that stage actor Ray Fisher has been cast as Victor Stone, aka Cyborg.
Fisher portraying Muhammad Ali (ANDREW SCHWARTZ FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
In the New 52 continuity, Victor Stone is a football player and son of a brilliant scientist/engineer whom works at S.T.A.R. Labs. Through an unfortunate sequence of events, Stone is mortally wounded and rescued by his father and their team. In true Robocop fashion, they save him with cybernetic enhancements. He is part man and part robot. The same person who is was defined by his athletic prowess, is now able to hack any computer in sight and has a fancy set of transformable weapons in his arms. He is a techie for a new generation. There has been a marked effort by DC Entertainment to integrate the character into all eras of media. Most notably his character was the catalyst for the formation of the Justice League in both the New 52 series and Justice League: War.
The choice of the unknown Fisher should allow fans to have a fresh interpretation of the character, without being bogged down by a name face. However it seems that this is no coincidence. In an interview for the Man of Steel Blu-Ray extras, Superman actor Henry Cavill dropped us a hint in plain sight:
What really intrigued me was Dr. Emil Hamilton’s connection to S.T.A.R. Labs. Cyborg I think would make a wonderful character and an incredible bridge between both superhumans and humanity in a different way to Batman. So I don’t know where he’s going to come in or if he’s going to come in, but that’s one I’m particularly excited about.
So they really seem to have the long view on this and are going to be giving us all the foundational pieces to a Justice League movie. It is rumored that Stone is in the film for only a scene or so, in an effort to establish the character. Surely he will return in the inevitable Justice League movie which should follow closely after Man of Steel 2. This however may seem like little solace to fans nervous that the Man of Steel sequel is already crowded with too many agendas and iconic characters. (Iron Man 2 anyone?) Regardless, it seems that we will be getting a comic book movie with a scope that we may not have seen yet. Very exciting stuff!
Sources: Variety, Screenrant