Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for Captain America: Brave New World.
Carl Lumbly is finally getting a taste of the MCU on the big screen with Captain America: Brave New World. After appearing in the 2021 series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as super soldier Isaiah Bradley, he’s at the center of a global conspiracy following an international incident with Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) that lands him in hot water. Well before he was being controlled to kill the president, however, the award winner was a regular presence in the world of Marvel’s chief rival, DC, primarily as a voice actor. Now that James Gunn and Peter Safran are manning that rebooted cinematic universe, returning to the franchise in a new capacity is something he’s very interested in.
In an interview with Collider’s Aidan Kelley for Brave New World, Lumbly was questioned about the DCU after one of the actor’s regular collaborators, Mike Flanagan, was brought up. The horror maestro, who previously worked with Lumbly on Doctor Sleep, Fall of the House of Usher, and, most recently, The Life of Chuck, was finally offered the opportunity to write his long-rumored horror-tragedy Clayface movie, now coming to theaters on September 11, 2026. Reteaming with an old friend would be as good a reason as any for Lumbly to jump back into DC. However, his years of experience also make him the perfect fit.
First appearing in Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, Lumbly’s animated DC credits range from small roles in Superman: The Animated Series to his most recent turn as M’att M’orzz in Young Justice. He’s even appeared in live-action in The CW’s Supergirl. The veteran actor’s most common role, though, is that of the Martian Manhunter, which he played in the original Justice League series, Justice League Unlimited, Justice League: Doom, and the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us, among other things. When presented with the fact that he was the most recurring Justice League member in the former, he laughed and said, “That’s what happens when you play a character who can discorporate and walk through people’s minds.” Regarding whether he was ready to return to DC, he gave an emphatic “Always” along with a more nuanced answer about why he likes embodying comic book characters and the responsibility he feels when these opportunities arise. He told Collider:

“I’ll be honest, generally, if I like a character or if I like the text, if I like the language of the piece, and, it might sound shallow, but perhaps if they have interesting wardrobe ideas, I am there! I love doing this. I feel, in some ways, like Isaiah feels—that I represent people who can’t be here, who are equally talented or more talented than I am, but for one reason or another, they didn’t get some of the opportunities that I got. So, when I work, that’s in my mind. I have to hold that, and I have a responsibility to them.”

What Does the Future Hold for Lumbly After ‘Brave New World’?

Lumbly’s slate is relatively clean after Brave New World. Theatergoers will see him again this summer when The Life of Chuck makes its long-awaited premiere following its People’s Choice Award-winning Toronto International Film Festival screening last year. The door is wide open for him to reunite with Flanagan in Clayface, and casting announcements may be coming before too long. DC Studios just tapped 2024’s Speak No Evil director James Watkins to helm the project based on Flanagan’s script as principal photography is expected to begin later this year. Should all go according to plan, the film will be the third feature production from Gunn’s DCU, following the release of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow on June 26, 2026.
In the meantime, Captain America: Brave New World is currently in theaters. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the future of both the MCU and DCU as both move to their next projects.

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