Not content with playing one character (though given the performance capture/creature nature, you wouldn't know it without looking at the credits) via The Suicide Squad's Weasel, it seems Sean Gunn has snagged another. While confirmation has yet to come from director James Gunn (who, let's not forget, also works with Peter Safran to oversee the DC Studios movie and TV sphere), Deadline reports that the younger Gunn (who has played a variety of roles in his brother's work) will pop up in films going forward as the villainous Maxwell Lord.
Lord's origins in the DC comic book universe date back to issue #1 of the 1987 Justice League comic book series, created by Keith Giffen, JM DeMatteis and Kevin Maguire. At first glance, he's a cunning businessman and an ally to the members of the Justice League, who was fundamental in orchestrating Justice League International. His unsuspecting charm even won over characters such as Blue Beetle and the Martian Manhunter.
But then, in Justice League International, issue #12, we learn that Lord had been doing the bidding of an evil computer in an attempt to replace all world leaders with robots. Though he did end up destroying the computer and breaking free from its influence, it wasn’t long before Lord became a powerful foe of his own accord: after gaining a metahuman ability in 1988’s
Invasion! limited series, Lord began to unleash his mind-control powers against humanity.
Pedro Pascal played the character in 2020’s Wonder Woman 1984, a businessman who discovers a powerful relic that can grant wishes and uses it to snatch power and influence for himself.
According to Deadline's sources, the plan is for Lord to be seeded in the background of James Gunn's Superman: Legacy, laying the path for him to show up elsewhere down the line.
Superman: Legacy is still aiming to hit cinemas on 11 January, 2025.