Actor Ben Schwartz is willing and ready to suit up as the stretchy superhero Plastic Man for James Gunn‘s DC Universe.
Who is Plastic Man?
A superhero able to stretch and transform his body into virtually any shape, Plastic Man/Patrick “Eel” O’Brian made his comic book debut in Police Comics #1 in 1941. Created by Jake Cole for Quality Comics, the superhero was acquired by DC Comics in 1956 and subsequently incorporated into its universe. Plastic Man has appeared in several animated adaptations, such as Batman: The Brave and the Bold and Justice League Action. However, the comical hero has yet to appear in a live-action DC project, although Warner Bros. unsuccessfully attempted to bring Plastic Man to the big screen in the late 1990s and the 2010s.
Schwartz, who has been posting online about his love of Plastic Man since 2018, recently reaffirmed his desire to play the DC superhero during a recent interaction with a fan on X. After being asked if there was still a chance the actor could play the stretchy superhero in the DCU, Schwartz responded, “It would be a dream come true. But whoever they get for that role. I’ll be excited that the character is out there in the world in a big fun way. James is in the zone with all of this stuff. He’ll nail it. And I’ll be first in line to buy a ticket.”
Unfortunately for Schwartz, he isn’t the only comic actor who fans wouldn’t mind seeing as Plastic Man. In November 2024, comedian John Mulaney responded to a question during GQ’s “Actually Me” series about whether he or Pete Davidson could be cast as the superhero.
“Is Plastic Man a DC comic? If you know the answer, call my personal phone,” he said. “It’d be a money thing. Honestly, I can answer for Pete as well, it’d be a money thing. Apparently, these movies pay a lot, these action hero things, but that is also changing in today’s ever-evolving media landscape.”
At the time of writing, a Plastic Man project has not been announced by DC Studios for the DCU. As for Schwartz, fans can see his latest movie, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, in a theater near them.
