3 superheroes White Lotus star Patrick Schwarzenegger was born to play

Emmy-winning HBO series The White Lotus has seen its share of breakout stars, including Jennifer Coolidge, Sydney Sweeney, and Theo James. Season 3 of The White Lotus has launched another breakout star whose father just so happens to be a 7-time Mr. Olympia, former governor, and an iconic action movie star, and whose mother is an award-winning journalist and the niece of former President John F. Kennedy.

Yes, I’m talking about the breakout star of The White Lotus season 3: Patrick Schwarzenegger. Schwarzenegger's role in The White Lotus as the protein shakes-drinking douchebag nepo-baby Saxon Ratliff may have some type-casting comparisons; however, his performance was a subtle, complex nuanced tour de force of angst, vulnerability, and family loyalty that certainly surprised fans and critics alike. It would not surprise me if Schwarzenegger were honored with multiple nominations during next year’s award season.

Recently, Schwarzenegger acknowledged that he had auditioned for James Gunn’s Superman, and of course, the part went to David Corenswet. Arnold Schwarzenegger created the phenomenon of an action movie star with his seminal roles in Terminator, Predator, Total Recall, True Lies, and more - it’s no stretch of the imagination that his son could very well do just the same.

Patrick’s role as Golden Boy (a troubled serum-induced super at Godolkin University) on Prime Video’s streaming series may be his first stint as a super-powered being, but it will most certainly not be his last. At 6'1, the 31-year-old with movie star looks and a megawatt smile may have been passed over for Superman, but the right superhero role could just be around the corner for him.

Patrick, by most measures, was born to play a superhero - from his physicality and Mr. Olympia genetics to his charm and acting prowess. The obvious choices for a superhero role for Patrick would be a quintessential good guy hero, like an archetype hero like Hyperion or Booster Gold. However, Patrick has more depth and range to tap into, so let’s consider three complicated superhero roles he’s best suited for.

Guardian (Weapon Alpha)

Patrick certainly has the physical build to get into shape to play Canadian superhero Guardian (James Hudson) aka Weapon Alpha, a prominent petrochemical engineer and scientist, who developed an exoskeleton battle suit. Guardian stole the suit when he found out his employer intended to use the suit as a military weapon. Guardian later founded a team of Canadian superheroes with a secret branch of the government, called Alpha Flight.

Guardian’s battle suit is a sleek steel mesh body armor, designed to represent the maple leaf Canadian flag, which allows him to fly and has the following abilities: project energy blasts, generate a personal force field, enhance his physical strength, and provide resistance to damage. Guardian has a charismatic presence to motivate his Alpha Flight superhero team by earning their trust and loyalty, and he's a brilliant strategist and critical thinker who commands patriotic loyalty to Canada and its people.

Patrick has the leading man's presence and the projected strength, intelligence, and confidence to pull off taking on the superhero role of Guardian. In the Marvel comics source material (The Uncanny X-Men issue #120) Alpha Flight’s first mission was to bring in the escaped Canadian asset Weapon-X (aka Wolverine). With mutants and the X-Men being introduced into the MCU, I’d love to see a live-action X-Men/Alpha Flight crossover with Patrick leading the charge as Guardian.

Deathstroke

Deathstroke (Slade Wison) is an expert marksman and highly skilled soldier who volunteered for an experimental procedure to enhance his physical and mental abilities. Deathstroke is considered to be the deadliest assassin in the DCU because of his superhuman strength, agility, reflexes, and intelligence.

Deathstroke is more of an anti-hero with his code of honor, which, based on his agenda, may align him with the side of good or evil. It's this dichotomy of Deathstroke’s conscience that would be interesting for Patrick to explore as an actor, to explore a super character that is not necessarily fully bad or good.

Based on DC comics source material, Deathstroke’s son Grant (Ravager) tragically died in his arms as a result of a failed enhancement experiment while he [Ravager] battled with the Teen Titans. Deathstroke blamed the Teen Titans for his son’s death because a criminal organization (H.I.V.E.) convinced his son to undergo the experiment to take down the Teen Titans, setting up Deathstroke and the Teen Titans as archenemies.

Deathstroke is a complex, heartbroken character who would give Patrick plenty of backstory to work with. Although there have been previous live-action depictions of Deathstroke, Patrick could bring a fresh perspective on this dangerous yet enigmatic mercenary to round out a possible DCU Teen Titans saga introduction.

With a live-action James Gunn DCU Teen Titans movie in the works, as mentioned in a recent SmartLess podcast with Warner Bros. Motion Pictures exes Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca – a Deathstroke role may be waiting for Patrick!

Nova Prime

Nova (Richard Rider) is a cosmic superhero who was randomly chosen by a dying Xandarian Nova Corps Centurion to inherit his powers. Upon receiving the power of the Nova Force, Rider became a Centurion in the intergalactic police force known as the Nova Corps. Nova is a cosmic-level super-hero as Nova Corps’ Nova Prime, who can navigate through the vastness of intergalactic space at speeds faster than light.

Nova has energy manipulation powers to manifest cosmic energy blasts as well as the ability to create a force field. As a trained Nova Corps Centurion, Rider is a formidable hand-to-hand combatant with enhanced reflexes.

In Marvel comics, Worldmind is the custodian of the Nova Force and is a sentient AI supercomputer that is connected to Nova. Worldmind possesses the collective knowledge and experiences of the entire Nova Corps. This has a significant mental and emotional impact on Nova while coping with the magnitude of his cosmic powers as well as his connection to Worldmind.

Patrick could portray Nova as a powerful cosmic being with the weight of policing the galaxy in the midst of managing the emotional stresses of the Worldmind collective. Given Patrick’s progression as an actor and his newfound notoriety could bring new audiences to a Nova project, albeit a feature film or a series.

Although the Xandarian Nova Corps has been introduced into the MCU via Guardians of the Galaxy, the best-known Marvel comic Nova Corps member, Richard Rider, has yet to be introduced into the MCU. In 2024, Kevin Feige announced that a Nova project as a series would feature Richard Rider. So, could we see Patrick Schwarzenegger in an MCU Nova series in 2027? One can certainly hope.