A Marvel star has been cast as major DC hero, reports say

The new DC Universe is coming together quite nicely it seems. James Gunn and Peter Safran are running the show at the newly-launched DC Studios in a bid to help Warner Bros. Discovery form a shared universe of superheroes capable of going toe-to-toe with Marvel Studios' juggernaut Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's set to wipe out the previous DC Extended Universe and start afresh, kicking things off on the live-action front next year with the Gunn-directed Superman (animated series Creature Commandos officially launches it later this year).

There have already been some major castings in the DC Universe, with David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult playing the iconic trinity of Superman, Lois Lane, and Lex Luthor, while House of the Dragon breakout Milly Alcock will play Supergirl in that character's upcoming movie. But with rumors of a DCEU veteran returning to the new franchise, Peacemaker returning for a second season, and characters like Batman waiting to be cast, things are ramping up on the DCU front.

Now, a new report claims that the franchise's next hero has been cast.

Kumail Nanjiani rumored to be cast as Booster Gold in the DC Universe

According to a new report from Nexus Point News, Kumail Nanjiani has been cast as Booster Gold in the DC Universe. If true, that would mean that Nanjiani would be fronting the upcoming Booster Gold TV series set in that universe, with the potential for more appearances in the franchise both leading up to and after it.

While it has yet to be officially confirmed by Nanjiani or anyone at DC Studios, Gunn is usually pretty quick to deny inaccurate rumors and he has yet to speak on this one. Furthermore, when the director revealed the first full look at the logo for Superman on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, Nanjiani quoted the post and simply responded "In." Whether that means he's hinting at the rumors of him being part of the DC Universe or just a message of approval for his friend, Gunn, remains to be seen.

He did, however, respond to his own post with a rather humorous comment claiming that he is "IN to watch this movie" and not actually in it. That, of course, doesn't rule out being a part of the DC Universe franchise, and fans have caught on to that, responding with their own questions about whether he was intentionally raising some eyebrows due to the Booster Gold rumor.

Nanjiani is a veteran of both the big and small screens, with his most famous roles coming in comedy series Silicon Valley, and The Big Sick (which he co-wrote with his wife Emily V. Gordon and earned an Academy Award nomination for). He is also no stranger to the superhero field, having portrayed Kingo in Marvel Studios' Eternals and Vik in both The Boys and animated spinoff The Boys Presents: Diabolical. He also appeared in the Star Wars universe as part of the Disney Plus series Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Booster Gold is a fan-favorite DC character that could benefit from the spotlight of being part of a franchise the scale of the DC Universe. Introduced into the lore in 1986, the character was originally a self-absorbed fictional hero crafting publicity stunts for the fame and applause. However, he does eventually step up, using his talents to be a real hero and becoming a member of the Justice League.

The character has had two live-action appearances thus far, with actor Eric Marstof playing him in Smallville and Donald Faison playing him in DC's Legends of Tomorrow. A Booster Gold TV show feels like the inevitable next step, and we can't wait to see it when it happens in the DCU. The only question is: Is Kumail Nanjiani the next actor to add his name to that list?