Word started to spread late last year that John Cleese had picked up a role in the DC Expanded Universe... though there weren't exactly a ton of details made available at the time. After all, it was all conjecture based on individuals following each other on Twitter. We still don't have confirmation of any kind, but today the legendary comedic actor has provided a hint that he will indeed be a part of the comic book universe:
At first glance, this new Tweet from John Cleese seems totally normal, with the great Monty Python star pulling a funny face backstage before a special event. But I will draw your attention to the stack of books that is sitting in front of him - which is a bunch of DC Comics. It's entirely possible that Cleese is just a comic book fan who enjoys to read Batman stories, but one has to wonder if it might actually be a bit of research.
Examined in high resolution, the photo seems to reveal that John Cleese is in the midst of reading three different books: Frank Miller's legendary "The Dark Knight Returns;" Geoff Johns and Jim Lee's New 52 Justice League reboot "Justice League: Origin;" and the black-and-white printing of the Scott Snyder and Jock Batman story "The Black Mirror." These are comics that are technically from three separate eras of DC Comics, but there is one common thread between all three of them: Batman.
So what could this mean for John Cleese's future within the DC Extended Universe? For starters, it may mean that he could be making an appearance in more than one movie. Specifically, the timing of the initial speculation made us think that he could pop up in Zack Snyder's Justice League, but perhaps the door is also open for him to have a role in Ben Affleck's untitled Batman feature as well.
It is worth mentioning that John Cleese doesn't exactly do a whole lot of live-action acting anymore. Now 77 years old, he doesn't really spend too much time in front of the camera, and instead has been doing a lot voice-over work (most recently playing King Gristle Sr. in last year's Trolls). Because of this, fans probably shouldn't expect Cleese's DC role to be very big - whatever it may be. At the same time, just the idea of him doing something involved with the DC Extended Universe is exciting.
What do you make of this latest bit of "evidence" in the mystery of John Cleese and DC Comics? Hit the comments section with your thoughts below, and stay tuned for more updates as this interesting mystery continues to develop.
