The Batman: 10 Perfect Roles Mahershala Ali Could Play

A new rumour has suggested Mahershala Ali could be joining Matt Reeves and Robert Pattinson on The Batman, as well as heading into the MCU as Blade. He’s a hugely talented actor, having won two Oscars in the past three years for Moonlight and Green Book (trivia: also became the first Muslim to win an acting Oscar), and his career is experiencing a massive rise.

He’s also impressed in True Detective and House Of Cards on the small screen recently, and has superhero experience from his roles as Aaron Davis in Into The Spider-Verse and Cottonmouth in Luke Cage. There’s huge anticipation for his take on Blade, and there’s a plethora of Batman roles he’d be perfect for too.

Ali has enormous range and if the rumours are true, Reeves’ Batman movie becomes even more exciting. With other rumours suggesting their could be up to six villains in the flick, some will likely be slow burn, franchise characters who’ll stick around. Ali’s depth as an actor makes him ideal for this, though he could certainly handle an single starring role too.

That’s not to say antagonist is the only option though. Batman has a sizeable team behind him, and Ali might find a home there instead.

Bronze Tiger has already appeared in the Arrowverse, so it’s not like he’s too obscure to ever be adapted on the big screen. With Ezra Miller playing the DCEU version of Flash, they’re clearly keeping it separate from the Arrowverse. Given how successful Arrow and the rest have been though, the DCEU surely has to look to it for inspiration.

Bronze Tiger is especially interesting if there is indeed to be multiple villains in The Batman. He starts out as a villain, though later works together with the Dark Knight and transforms into more of an antihero.

If Ali sticks around for a few films in the franchise (and DC can finally commit to a long term vision), a multi movie arc as Bronze Tiger could be compelling.