Kevin Smith is the go-to guy for comic book nerds. The cult filmmaker has a reputation that stands up to even the biggest fans, and Smith has transformed his love of superheroes into a career. Some of Hollywood’s biggest stars look to Smith for advice on what comic book characters they can play, and Matt Damon may be the latest leading man to approach Smith.
At New York Comic Con, ComicBook.com’s Brandon Davis had a chance to speak with Damon about his upcoming film, The Great Wall. The two talked cinematic magic before the topic turned to superhero flicks, and Damon admitted he didn’t know what characters were out there for him to play.
“The comic book fans would know better than me if there was any cool character I could come and play,” he said. “Maybe I’ll call Kevin Smith and ask him if there’s anything out there.”
Of course, Smith would surely jump at the chance to mentor Damon about his superhero debut. The actor has previously said he’s not particularly interested in suiting up for such roles, but the idea of playing a villain or overseers could pique his interest.
Damon also told ComicBook.com there was one superhero who he was familiar with - Daredevil. The actor said both Ben Affleck and he loved the blind vigilante as kids. “That was our guy. I love Matt Murdock,” Damon explained. “That was the one comic book that we read.”
However, it doesn’t look likely that Damon will get the opportunity to play the hero. While Affleck was able to play the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen years ago, Charlie Cox currently plays the hero on Marvel’s Daredevil on Netflix.
“They’ve done it, you know,” Damon said. When asked if he’d seen the show yet, the actor confessed he hadn’t had time to binge the series yet. “I haven’t! I heard it’s really good though. If I have time, I will though!”
Naturally, Smith would be able to recommend any number of comic book roles to Damon should the actor ask. The filmmaker was also at NYCC this weekend where he gushed about his love of superheroes and told attendees they should be grateful for today’s comic book adaptations.
“We live in a world were they are making a f**king Antman sequel. We didn't have this sh!t when I was growing up,” he said. “Creation path is wide open, man. We should appreciate it. It is easy to pay to see a movie, s**t on it, and be negative - but I am on the other side of this. F**k that.”
“As you sit around taking s**t on things, the world is passing you by. There is no good reason to do it. You try to ascend in life and people try to drag you down. I guess misery loves company. There will be always people to sh!t on things. I just think about being that 10 year-old dreaming that people would make these films and now they are so be happy."
ComicBook.com also attended Damon’s panel for The Great Wall, and you can check out our recap of the event here.
The Great Wall will hit theaters on February 17, 2017.