Variety is reporting that their sources confirm Warner Bros. has cast actor Ray Fisher to play Victor Stone, a young man who becomes the superhero Cyborg, in the upcoming sequel to Man of Steel. Cyborg is a member of the Justice League in DC Comics, and it’s expected the character’s small role in this film sets up his larger role in the Justice League movie set to follow. The story was reported by Variety‘s Justin Kroll.
Cyborg has long been expected to appear in the film, since 2013′s Man of Steel included S.T.A.R. Labs, and writer David Goyer specifically pointed to that as an indication Cyborg might make an appearance on film later. I’ve heard rumors for months that, besides Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, at least one other superhero would have a cameo in the film, and Cyborg was a top contender. I believe there’s also at least one additional superhero character who might make a brief appearance as well.
Ray Fisher, an actor in live theater, recently made a splash portraying famous boxer Muhammad Ali in the play Fetch Clay, Make Man. It’s likely he will portray the character Victor Stone prior to his transformation into the half-man/half-machine superhero Cyborg, and that we’ll see him in full machine-man mode when he appears in Justice League. It’s possible, though, that the events of Batman vs. Superman will include Stone’s injuries and subsequent change to cybernetic form.
Fisher has previously been rumored to be up for a role in the upcoming Star Wars sequel film. Before today’s announcement, many fans and media had speculated that actor Dwayne Johnson might be portraying Cyborg, since he has reached a secret deal with Warner Bros. to appear in the DC cinematic universe in some fashion. With Cyborg being cast, that narrows down the options for who Johnson might portray. The actor counted out Green Lantern, too, so it appears to me he’s most likely to play Martian Manhunter, Captain Marvel (commonly referred to in the mainstream as Shazam), or perhaps a villainous character like Black Adam or Darkseid (my guess is Martian Manhunter). Some fans speculate he may take on the role of Lobo, a character long in the works at the studio but thus far unable to get past the early development stages.
With principal photography about to get underway in Michigan next month, Warner is moving to finish casting, so we’re sure to hear some official news soon about more casting, not to mention the inevitable reveal of the new costumes for Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. The studio is hoping to score Avengers-level box office or higher, so the more the film appears to be setting the stage for a full Justice League movie, and the more we hear about cameos by other superheroes and villains, the more the buzz will grow and anticipation will build in the mainstream.
Warner hasn’t officially confirmed this casting of Fisher as Cyborg, remember, but Variety‘s sources are usually very reliable, and this is a character who has quietly been part of the casting search for a while now, so I think it’s likely this report is accurate and will be confirmed shortly. Expect additional casting to come out as the start of filming gets closer, meaning the next three to four weeks will be mighty interesting!
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