Lennie James has become an integral part of The Walking Dead universe, transitioning from the flagship show to Fear The Walking Dead, much to the delight of fans. He may still have a solid run in the franchise yet, but that doesn't mean the actor isn't disinterested in jumping into another major franchise in Hollywood.
James recently did an interview with The Nerds of Color and was asked about his love for all things Marvel. When asked if there was any franchise he'd like to join if given the opportunity, James talked about his love of Daredevil and gave his thoughts on the franchise's efforts in television and movies to this point:
One of my favorite characters in the [Marvel] universe was Daredevil, and I know it's a tricky one. I think they did a good origin story for it on the television show on Netflix. I think they didn't quite get it right in the Ben Affleck version just because they got the suit wrong for him and just made it much too complicated. But I did, certainly in comic form, have a real soft spot for Daredevil. I just thought he was really cool, so that’s a character I love.
Unsurprisingly, Lennie James has a love for Daredevil and has about the same viewpoints about the movie and the show as I think a majority of fans would. Ben Affleck is coming back as Bat-Fleck so I feel like it's fair game to take shots at his Daredevil again, not that the costume was at all his fault.
Obviously for Lennie James to play Matt Murdock, his version couldn't be connected to either previous incarnation of the character. Lennie James had a few suggestions as to how to make his version of Matt Murdock happen, suggesting something akin to what James Mangold did with another aged Marvel character:
I'm a bit long in the tooth to be playing Daredevil now, so they'd have to do a kind of Logan version of it, of Daredevil at the end [of his career] as a grown man not quite being able to bend his knees at the top of some skyscraper in Hell's Kitchen. And actually using the stick not just to find his way but also to keep him standing. We might have to do that version of it, but I've always loved Daredevil.
The odds of Lennie James playing Daredevil in the MCU feel low, but are not impossible. Marvel has been toying with the idea of the multiverse in its latest and upcoming TV shows and movies, and rumors have swirled that all the past actors who played Spider-Man in movies will get together for a big team-up movie in the future.
Multiple versions of heroes certainly open up the possibility of a Daredevil played by Lennie James making an appearance in a TV show or film, so let's keep our fingers crossed that day may come. Imagine a Matt Murdock with the intensity of Fear The Walking Dead's Morgan Jones, and tell me that's not a casting that would put some butts in seats.
It's been said that Marvel will soon officially get back the rights to Daredevil and its characters before the end of 2020 and will then be free to make content with the characters once more. It's still not clear what the plan is for the character when he does rejoin the Marvel family, though many have hoped Charlie Cox would reprise the role in some way. If not, then it's obviously going to be recast, and Lennie James may have a chance (however small) to make his dream a reality.
For now, Lennie James can be seen on Fear The Walking Dead on AMC Sundays at 9:00 p.m. ET. Continue to stick with CinemaBlend for more on the franchise, and for more news happening in television and movies.
