Matthew Lillard was announced for Man of Tomorrow, but his role remains a mystery. There are new rumors that he could be playing a more obscure character, but one that ties into some things James Gunn already said were going to be a running thread throughout the DCU. The new movie has Superman being forced to team up with Lex Luthor as they attempt to protect Earth from Brainiac. There are several characters in the movie, including Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific, Supergirl, and John Stewart, all showing up in one way or another. As for Lillard’s character, while some fans guessed he could be Barry Allen, the new rumors hint at something that ties the Superman movie into an HBO Max series.
According to the most recent Man of Tomorrow casting rumors, Matthew Lillard might be playing the character of King Faraday in the movie. The most important thing to note here is that Faraday is a DC Comics character who was part of a DCU team that has already been introduced on television: Checkmate.
RUMOR: In Collaboration with @JuanEditzs We have heard that Matthew Lillard could be Playing King Faraday In Man Of Tomorrow pic.twitter.com/LKE6cneWim
King Faraday is an ex-soldier and a counter-espionage agent for the government who made his debut way back in 1950 in Danger Trail #1 by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino. Given James Gunn’s love of classic comics, there is a good chance that he loves those old-school King Faraday appearances where he was a secret agent who worked with Batman more than once. However, he connects perfectly to the DCU through Checkmate, where he worked as the Bishop for Amanda Waller (the Queen).
Checkmate is different in the DCU, but Gunn has said that he has big plans for the group, and he even mentioned them possibly playing a role in Man of Tomorrow and beyond. In the Peacemaker Season 2 finale, the 11th Street Kids abandoned the authorities that led them astray and started a new group, Checkmate, with the money that Vigilante stockpiled while fighting crime to create Checkmate. Unlike the secret government agency founded by Amanda Waller in the comics, this is an independent, private crime-fighting agency with Judomaster, Vigilante, former ARGUS agents Fleury and Bordeaux, and Peacemaker’s friends Adebayo, Economos, and Harcourt.
Gunn said that he wanted to use things like Checkmate and Salvation, the prison planet that Peacemaker was abandoned on in the finale, since before he even started in the DCU. “Where Chris is at the end, what is happening between the government and the metahumans, Rick and Lex’s new partnership, and all of their decision to do what they did is all a part of the future, [Man of Tomorrow], and more,” Gunn said after the Peacemaker finale.
While Gunn said that the Peacemaker cliffhanger on Salvation won’t be settled in Man of Tomorrow, if Lillard plays King Faraday and has something to do with Checkmate, possibly as a new financier for the team, it could open things up for them to find Peacemaker in a future project. As always, rumors about who is playing who in a DCU movie are all taken with a grain of salt until James Gunn confirms it. That said, wrapping up that Peacemaker cliffhanger is something that could start to take form in Man of Tomorrow.
What are your thoughts on Matthew Lillard possibly playing King Faraday in Man of Tomorrow? Could this finally tie up the Peacemaker finale? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
