Theater actor Ray Fisher signs to play DC’s Cyborg in ‘Man Of Steel’ sequel

Zack Snyder is already hard at work on the “Man Of Steel” sequel that will also feature the introductions of a number of other heroes from the DC Universe, and word comes today that the character Cyborg will now play a part in the film.

Ray Fisher's name has been in play for the last month or so as one of the many names being considered for a key role in “Star Wars: Episode VII,” and while I'd never accuse Warner Bros. of intentionally hiring him just so Disney and Lucasfilm can't, it would seem that casting him as Cyborg would make it hard for him to also show up a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

So far, Fisher's got nothing we can point to on film as a calling card, but he's well-known as a theater performer, with his performance as Muhammad Ali in “Fetch Clay, Make Man” winning him a good deal of acclaim. It's always interesting to me when someone goes from being essentially unknown to suddenly being a hot commodity, before they've even had a film released. In this case, it seems like whoever represents FIsher has been getting him into rooms and that he's been impressing the people he's met.

I'm not sure how Cyborg will figure into the “Man Of Steel” sequel, but this speaks to the way Warner Bros. is trying to use this as the springboard to their larger comic book universe. It's sort of a bummer that instead of making this a sequel to the first film, it's going to become a franchise launch pad that also happens to include Superman. It's interesting that the first two Nolan films really dealt with the idea of escalation and how Batman's existence basically pushed more bad guys into existence. It almost feels like this sequel is going to cover some of that same thematic ground.

It's not a bad idea. After all, if we really did go through the events of the first film, it would change the world. No question about it. And if there were super-powered people in the world who had been hiding, who knows what would happen after Kal-El is revealed? There was a rumor earlier this year that Zack Snyder wanted to cast a black superhero, and it looks like that was correct. I'll be curious to see what role Cyborg plays in things, and how they're going to handle his design. One thing's for sure… this movie's getting crowded.

The untitled “Man Of Steel” sequel arrives in theaters May 6, 2016, starring Henry Cavill, Jesse Eisenberg, Gal Gadot, Amy Adams, and Ben Affleck.

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