Eternals & Star Wars Actor Rumored to be Playing Pivotal Character in James Gunn’s DCU

According to a report published by Nexus Point News, it appears Kumail Nanjiani has been cast to portray the time-traveling loser from the future who uses technology to make himself the modern-day superhero known as Booster Gold in the DC Universe (DCU). While there hasn’t been any official confirmation provided by DC Studios’ co-CEOs and co-chairs, James Gunn and Peter Safran, Hollywood insider Daniel Richtman did repost the information on X, formerly Twitter, courtesy of Apocalyptic Horseman (@ApocHorseman).

Back on May 23, DC Film News shared a post on X, which gave credit to Richtman, that claimed “DC Studios is reportedly close to getting a showrunner for BOOSTER GOLD. The titular character has already been cast.” The television series Booster Gold was but one of the many DCU projects announced by James Gunn back in January of 2023.

And just recently, on July 11, Nanjiani suddenly took to X denying his involvement in Superman (2025). The post, which features a photo of the new Man of Steel emblem, originally read one word: “In.” Nanjiani quickly followed up by writing in the comments:

Did Nanjiani pull a Mark Ruffalo and spill the beans? Only time will tell, and perhaps fans will learn for certain at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

Booster Gold Is a Futuristic Fame-Seeker Dying to Be a Superhero

Leading up to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, arguably the most exciting DCU news to hit the internet has been the pictures from the set of James Gunn’s Superman (2025), which reveal images of the Man of Steel (David Corenswet), Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) among others. Now, if DC Studios confirms Kumail Nanjiani is going to play the titular character in the DCU series, it will turn out to be another case of race swapping, as Booster Gold is a blonde-haired Caucasian.

Some notable examples of characters’ races being changed in superhero films include Samuel L. Jackson being cast as Nick Fury, Ben Kingsley playing the Mandarin and Jason Momoa portraying Aquaman. At the end of the day, though, who is Booster Gold? What makes the character interesting and special? Check out the superhero impostor’s official bio (per DC Comics) below:

“A scoundrel from the future intent on making a name for himself in the past, Booster Gold has nevertheless exhibited his share of heroism.
When opportunity arises, you have to seize it!
That’s an idea that has driven Mike Carter, a college football star of the 25th Century who earned the nickname ‘Booster’ on the field.
Even though people assured him a professional career of fame and fortune was in his future,
he decided he couldn’t wait and wagered on his own games.

The scandal halted his dreams of professional stardom and ruined his reputation. Taking a job as a security guard in the Metropolis Space Museum,
Mike saw another opportunity after studying the early age of superheroes. With future and alien technology stolen from the museum, and a time machine that was on display, he realized he could not only become a superhero himself in a past era where his criminal history was unknown,
but he could also make his good deeds profitable.

With his robot pal Skeets at his side,
Mike time-traveled to the modern age and debuted as Booster Gold.
For years now,
he’s fought evil alongside different versions of the Justice League and his good pal Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle.
Recently, Booster Gold has broadened his scope and acts as a protector of history itself. Though always eager to take credit for good deeds on social media or sign with a well-paying sponsor,
Booster is a good guy at heart and will drop everything if he genuinely sees someone in need.”

At the time of this writing, the Booster Gold series hasn’t been assigned an official release date. However, it’s now unclear if the DCU show will stream on Max, as originally intended, or if it will become a project falling under the HBO Original banner, like The Batman’s “twisted” spin-off, The Penguin and the upcoming Lanterns.