#If DC’s Plastic Man Movie Happens, Sonic Actor Ben Schwartz Wants to Take the Lead

The comic book movie industry has become a really crowded place. But even with dozens of superheroes running around on the big screen, Hollywood has only begun to scratch the surface of the full range of comic book characters. Ben Schwartz, best known as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog from the 2020 live-action movie, recently affirmed his desire to play one of the more obscure DC characters, Patrick Edward “Eel” O’Brian aka Plastic Man.

“I really wanted to play Plastic Man. I had a pitch, I had an idea for that movie. We didn’t end up writing it, but I would still love to play Plastic Man. I love the idea that there’s this thief-type character, and he gets superpowers and then maybe he doesn’t want to use them for good because he was a thief to begin with, Eel O’Brian. So I really love that. I saw the comedy in that and there’s a cartoon series that was very comedic too so you can see where it plays.”

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Despite not being very well known to the general public, Plastic Man has actually been appearing in comics since 1941. That means the super-stretchable superhero is actually even older than Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic, the most well-known stretchy superhero.

Plastic Man’s story begins as Eel O’Brian, a small-time crook who has a run-in with a mysterious chemical that grants his body the ability to change its shape at will. Armed with his new ability, Eel has a hard time deciding between his criminal tendencies, and his new-found desire to do good, as the wise-cracking anti-hero Plastic Man.

Schwartz’s physical resemblance to Plastic Man, coupled with his comic timing, has long made him a fan-favorite casting choice for the character. Unfortunately, that bit of casting is unlikely to be realized any time soon. Last year, it was revealed that Black List writer Cat Vasko has been hired to work on a live-action project based on Plastic Man. The catch is, the project is said to be a female-led piece, meaning the gender of the superhero might get swapped.

Still, while Plastic Man seems out of his reach at the moment, Ben Schwartz is staying positive about the chances of his being in a comic book movie adaptation one day. The actor revealed what other superhero/villain characters he wants to essay at some point.

“There’s an unlimited number of people I’d love to play. There’s also a comic book series I loved when I was a kid called Slapstick, which is this little clown with a big old hammer. I’d like to play a villain also. To play the Riddler would have been so fun or to play the Joker. That would have been insane! But the Riddler, it could be so fun.”

For now, Schwartz can look forward to once again voicing one of gaming’s original superheroes, Sonic, in the upcoming sequel to the 2020 film. Written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is directed by Jeff Fowler. The film will hit theaters on April 8, 2022. This article comes from Nerdist.

Topics: Plastic Man, Sonic the Hedgehog