New 'Batman v Superman' Set Photos Prompt Superhero-Sized Speculation

Photos popped up online this week of actor Scoot McNairy (Argo, Halt and Catch Fire) taking a smoke break on the Detroit set of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. The 36-year-old actor was sporting some suspicious green material covering his lower legs, suggesting that whatever character he’s playing in the super-sized sequel, he’ll need some CGI work to finish the look. While McNairy has talked openly about working with director Zack Snyder on the film, he’s been mum about whom he might be playing. So how about some wild (yet well-researched) speculation about which superhero’s boots he’s attempting to fill?

The Flash

DC Comics’ Geoff Johns told the Television Critics Association last month that the TV and film worlds of the DC Universe are pretty much staying separate. So it’s possible that Snyder, in building his own Justice League, will ignore the fact that there’s a Flash TV series starting this fall, and introduce the character separately the film world. If so, perhaps McNairy’s shooting a scene in which Barry Allen has to take off somewhere without donning his tights.

Robin

There have already been rumors circulating online that our later-in-life, tortured Batman (Ben Affleck) has chosen to decorate his Batcave with a framed, tattered Robin costume, suggesting some tragedy befalling his ward, Dick Grayson. So what if that tragedy left the Boy Wonder alive, but too injured to continue fighting crime?

Plastic Man

Speaking of the Justice League, maybe Snyder is going much deeper into the DC roster and bringing the super-flexible League member to the screen — in which case McNairy could be filming a leg-stretching scene. Plastic Man did show up in some of Frank Miller’s Batman stories, after all. And just look at McNairy’s hair! That’s a pretty well-lacquered side-part.

Metallo

As MTV, CinemaBlend, and numerous Internet commenters have speculated, McNairy could be playing fearsome, kryptonite-powered Superman villain Metallo. Those could be robot legs that will be added in later, though why Metallo would don a shirt and tie is anyone’s guess.

A survivor of Superman and Zod’s Metropolis brawl in Man of Steel

Then again, maybe McNairy isn’t playing a superhero or villain at all. Maybe he’s just an average citizen who suffered greatly during Kal-El’s building-destroying battle with Zod at the end of the last film that leveled half of Metropolis. Rumor has it a lot of the animosity between Batman and Superman in Snyder’s film is Batman’s worry that Superman is too dangerous to be around everyday people. McNairy could play that sort of character perfectly: It’s the kind of role that calls for some emotional heft, and anyone who’s seen McNairy’s work knows he’s great at turning in pained, distraught and affecting performances.

Someone really, really obscure

Snyder and Co. could be going for a DC deep-cut here, perhaps casting McNairy as someone like Metamorpho (a.k.a. Element Man), a sporadic Justice League member who can shape-shift into any element. Or maybe he’s the opportunistic superhero Booster Gold, who’s not really a Justice League-type, but has been known to move very fast. Perhaps, in an even weirder theory, McNairy is playing Steve Trevor, the human boyfriend of Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) who crash-landed on Paradise Island. Maybe it was a really bad crash —like the kind that could cause the loss of his legs. That’s just the kind of downer setup a malaise-merchant like Snyder would go for.

Photo © Tim Reinman/Twitter

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