James Gunn Talks About the DC Role He Originally Wrote For Late Actor Lance Reddick

DC Boss and filmmaker James Gunn is known for making some of the best superhero movies of the last couple of decades, and one of his strengths is finding the best actors to fill the roles that bring the beloved superhero characters to life.

One actor he was looking forward to seeing in his DC Universe was Lance Riddick, the actor best known for roles in shows like The Wire, Fringe and Bosch, and movies like One Night in Miami…, and the John Wick franchise. He voiced Commander Zavala in the Destiny video game series, Marvel’s Falcon on the animated Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Dr. Thomas Wayne in the Spotify audio series Batman Unburied, and voiced villain Ra’s al Ghul in Beware the Batman and Superman archnemesis Lex Luthor in Kite Man: Hell Yeah!. But his superhero genre career would have continued if the actor hadn’t passed in 2023.

Gunn revealed on The Viall Files podcast that he wrote the role of mercenary Clemson Murn for Reddick. He explained, “In the first season, there’s the character of Murn, played by Chukwudi Iwuji, who went on to play the High Evolutionary,” Gunn said, referring to the villain of 2023’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.

Adding that Iwuji is “a great guy, one of the best actors I’ve ever worked with,” Gunn revealed, “I wrote that role for Lance Reddick.”

“Lance wanted to do it, but he couldn’t because he had another show, and so I had to find another actor,” Gunn continued. “Chukwudi came in and he just had a completely different take on the character. I think it was probably the best performance it season 1.

“Somebody like Chuk, he just found a way in. Nothing changed about the dialogue that the character said, but the way he approached it was how he got that role.”

It’s surely one of many roles that Reddick would have taken on and been excellent in. Luckily Iwuji is also a great actor, and has been able to fill the big shoes left behind.