Willem Dafoe Is Latest Actor To Join ‘Justice League’ Movie
The production for Justice League Part One has already started, but the film is still gathering up its cast. Willem Dafoe is the latest actor to sign on for the 2017 film, whose cast is already packed with big named superheroes.
It’s been confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter that Dafoe will co-star in Justice League Part One, but which role he will play is being kept secret. The only other detail given to the press is that Dafoe will play a good guy character and not a villainous role that the actor usually plays.
Not only is Willem Dafoe’s role being kept from the media, but also which DC Comics villian will star in Justice League Part One. Rumors are going around that supervillian Darkseid will wreak havoc in the DC Universe’s film, but Warner Bros. executives are keeping mum on the subject, along with who is playing the movie’s antagonist.
Batman v Superman director Zack Snyder is back in the director’s seat for Justice League Part One, and Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, and Gal Gadot will also return in their respective roles as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Rounding out the rest of the superhero Justice League are Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Ezra Miller as The Flash, and Ray Fisher as Cyborg.
Amber Heard signed on to play Queen Mera, who is Aquaman’s love interest. Heard will also play the role in the Aquaman movie that’s set for a 2018 opening.
Justice League Part One marks the return for Willem Dafoe starring in a comic book based film. Dafoe played the villainous Norman Osborn/The Green Goblin in the 2002-2007 Spiderman trilogies under Colombia Pictures and Marvel Studios.
Dafoe has played many roles where he is usually the antagonist like Streets of Fire, To Live and Die in L.A., The Boondock Saints, and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. Dafoe has also been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for two films: Platoon (1986) and Shadow of the Vampire (2000).
Back in 1988, Tim Burton considered Dafoe for the role of The Joker in his version of Batman (1989). That role ended up going to Jack Nicholson.
Dafoe has always been aware that he might get typecast as a villain in most of his movies. In an interview with The Guardian in November 1998, Dafoe discussed the topic about how certain looks can cause casting directors to relegate characters and bad guy roles to actors that aren’t Hollywood handsome.
“It’s true in the beginning I started playing villains and I think that’s pretty clear because if you don’t conventionally look a certain way and you’ve got a certain kind of presence when you’re young, then what’s available to you is character roles and the best character roles when you’re young tend to be villains.”
Willem Dafoe will not have to worry about playing a bad guy in Justice League Part One, although his mystery role character is not necessarily a superhero, which some people find hard to believe. Some people on Twitter are already speculating that Dafoe’s role can be a ruse, and he can turn into a bad guy eventually, but it’s just comic fans having fun with the news.
What if Willem Dafoe as a "good guy" in Justice League, is all a ruse and he's playing and older/original Joker… pic.twitter.com/807Io0V8Dm
— Chris Wilson (@CrisMovieCorner) April 19, 2016
Justice League Part One will be mostly filmed in London, with additional shots to be filmed in Iceland. The superhero movie has a November 10, 2017 release date.
[Photo by Ernesto Ruscio/Getty Images]
