While the superhero genre is the biggest it’s ever been at the moment, there’s room for pretty much every great actor to findsomethingto do within one of these massive comic book universes if they so desire. But in the case ofLaurence Fishburne, being part of just one superhero universe wasn’t enough. The Oscar-nominated performer was cast as Perry White inMan of Steel, subsequently reprising the role inBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justiceas an established part of the DC Extended Universe. But Fishburne is now crossing the streams, as this summer he joined the cast of Marvel Studios’ upcoming sequelAnt-Man and the Wasp.
As it turns out, working with Marvel was actually Fisburne’s first choice, and he’s not just working with them onAnt-Man and the Waspbut also on another super secret project that he hopes will “change the world.”
Collider’s own Steve Weintraub recently spoke with Fishburne at the press day forRichard Linklater’s upcoming dramaLast Flag Flying, and during the course of their conversation Fishburne explained his affection for Marvel dates back to his childhood:
“I have figured out how to get myself into the Marvel Universe… I can only tell you that I, as a comic reader from childhood, I was a Marvel guy primarily because I grew up in New York City in the 60s and 70s when Marvel was really touching on everything that was happening in my world. It was reflected in the books and in the stories they were telling.”
Fishburne revealed that while he wasn’t able to be part ofJustice Leaguedue to scheduling issues, he actually went to Marvel and pitchedthemon joining the MCU, which led to hisAnt-Man and the Waspcasting:
“I got the offer to do Perry White inMan of Steel, I said yes to that. ObviouslyBatman v SupermanI said yes to that. I was unable to be involved in theJustice Leaguemovie, scheduling-wise it just wasn’t going to work out, but I had wanted very much to be part of the Marvel universe at the same time. So I went to them and pitched them a couple of ideas and basically said, ‘Look, if there’s anything I can do that makes sense for me to do in the Marvel universe, I would love to be involved. So they came to me with an offer to be Bill Foster inAnt-Man and the Wasp.”
While Fishburne wasn’t allowed to say much about his role in theAnt-Mansequel, he sounds enthused about the project:
“All I can tell you is I’m playing Bill Foster, who was Hank Pym’s assistant. That’s how I enter into the world and I’m very excited. Peyton Reed is directing it, who directed the first one. It’s gonna be as fun and cool and smart as the first one.”
The actor said at this point he still has two shooting days left onAnt-Man and the Wasp, but also revealed that he’s working on another secret project for Marvel:
“I’ve gotblack-ishgoing on, I’m developing something else for Marvel that I can’t talk about. It’s gonna bereallycool. It’s gonna change the world, we hope (laughs). I went to Marvel and pitched them something that really couldn’t work out—there was a lot of legal red tape that just [was] something they couldn’t work out. But then they came back with the offer forAnt-Man and the Waspand then they said, ‘Hey, what do you think of this?’ and I went ‘Oh yeah that, yes!’ so…”
Curious.Verycurious. It’s unclear if the project Fishburne is talking about is a new film, a TV series, a short, a new comic run, or something else entirely, but the actor certainly seems incredibly excited about it so here’s hoping we learn more soon.
Look for our full interview with Fishburne up on Collider shortly.
