Chukwudi Iwuji is the new actor who has captured the spotlight in Hollywood. His portrayal of The High Evolutionary in James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is being praised by Marvel fans all over the globe. But this isn’t the first time the actor has worked with James Gunn.
Iwuji first came to the mainstream audience’s attention thanks to James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad spin-off Peacemaker. Now that Gunn is in charge of DC Studios and is charting out a new DCU, it’s expected that he will hire some of his old buddies as new DC faces. So what role does Iwuji want to play if given the chance?
Chukwudi Iwuji Reveals The Demonic Character He Wants To Play In The DCU
In an interview with Phase Zero Podcast, Chukwudi Iwuji revealed the one demonic DC character he will do anything to play- Etrigan the Demon. From the actor’s answer, it looks like he is knowledgeable and passionate about the character’s backstory and lore.
Here’s what Iwuji said:
“I was talking to a friend about it: I was like ‘This character… this is Jekyll and Hyde of the DC world.’ So Etrigan. If you told me to name one it would be Etrigan. Like I just love the idea of having two people existing in one. That’d be my DC one. Etrigan.”
Right now, James Gunn hasn’t announced if the character will be in his DCU. But as the superhero franchise expands, there’s a chance that Etrigan will be brought into the fold. Also, since Gunn loves working and collaborating with the actors he has previously worked with, so Iwuji could jump back into DC again, but with a new role.
Who Is Etrigan The Demon In DC Comics?
In the pages of DC comics, Etrigan is indeed a demonic entity. He is also the half-brother of Merlin (the medieval wizard). Eventually, Merlin ties the demon to Jason Blood. Over the years, there have been various versions of how this bond came to be. But originally, Blood was the knight of Camelot (in King Arthur’s court) and Merlin bound him to Etrigan. In later retcons and retellings, Blood was Merlin’s frustrated student.
But no matter which lore one follows, the bond with Etrigan makes Blood essentially immortal. Thus, he is able to survive into the modern era of the DC universe, only to become an anti-hero. That’s not all. The Jekyll and Hyde dynamic that Chukwudi Iwuji was referring to is a result of this bond too. Jason Blood struggles to control Etrigan often since the demon’s motivations are harder to know sometimes.
Etrigan is an extremely powerful DC character with the ability to wield hellfire, project energy blasts, and more. He’s generally seen on the Justice League Dark team that’s comprised of other magical members like Zatanna, John Constantine, Madame Xanadu, and more. It will be interesting to see if Etrigan makes the jump to James Gunn’s live-action DCU.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is now in theaters.
Source: Phase Zero Podcast
