Angela Bassett Cast in GREEN LANTERN as Suicide Squad Leader
Angela Bassett has signed on to co-star in Warner Bros. highly anticipated comic book film Green Lantern. She joins the already cast Ryan Reynolds, Peter Sarsgaard, Tim Robbins and Mark Strong. Bassett will play Dr. Amanda Waller, if you're a fan of the comicbooks then you know that the character Bassett plays is a pretty bid deal in the DC Universe. If you don't really know who the character is, here's a little description:
Amanda Waller has been established as a widow who escaped Chicago's Cabrini-Green housing projects with her surviving family after one of her daughters and her husband were murdered. Waller eventually obtained a doctorate in Political science and became a congressional aide. During that work, she discovered the existence of the first two incarnations of the Suicide Squad. Taking elements from both of these, she proposed the development of its third incarnation to the White House and was placed in charge upon its approval. The Suicide Squad is a covert black-ops government strike team, partially made up of imprisoned super-villains who agree to serve as expendable agents on life-threatening top-secret missions for the US Government.
Warner Bros. doesn't say how big of a part the character will have in the Green Lantern film, or the Suicide Squad's involvement, but I think she is much like Nick Fury's character in the Marvel Universe. Nick Fury is one major character that is connecting all the Marvel films together. I wonder if Waller will have a similar role for the DC movie universe, will she be the the connection for all the DC comicbook films from here on out? I can definitely see it happening.
The film is currently shooting in New Orleans with Martin Campbell directing. Bassett is a fantastic actress and is perfect for this role, I'm looking forward to seeing where Warner Bros. and DC Entertainment take the character.
What are your thoughts on Bassett playing Amanda Waller and how big a part do you think she'll play in the DC Universe?