Could it really be happening? Months ago there was a wild rumor that from X account DCULeaks that Black Swan and The Wrestler filmmaker Darren Aronofsky was in talks to direct Plastic Man in the DC Universe.
The rumor quickly faded. But then, just late last week, a listing on Production Weekly was posted, and it had Aronofsky named as director of Plastic Man, and updating that the project is in development.
Wait… so this is real?
Plastic Man was Patrick ‘Eel’ O’Brian, a crook who gets doused with a mysterious chemical during a botched heist. He awakens to find himself imbued with the power to shape-shift and stretch his body into almost anything.
Plastic Man was created by writer-artist Jack Cole, and first appeared in Police Comics #1 (August 1941). One of Quality Comics’ signature characters during the Golden Age of Comic Books, his adventures were known for their quirky, offbeat structure and surreal slapstick humor.
When Quality Comics shut down in 1956, DC Comics acquired many of its characters, including Plastic Man.
The character starred in his own Saturday morning cartoon titled The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show from 1979 to 1981 and was also a recurring character on Batman: The Brave and the Bold from 2008 to 2011.
As far back as 2020, a plan had been floated for a gender-swapped Plastic Man, until it dawned on them that calling something Plastic Woman in Hollywood could be referring to millions of people.
Aronofsky was previously developing an R-rated adaption of Batman: Year One at Warner Bros. That eventually became Batman Begins.
Aronofsky’s last film, The Whale, was a critical darling and an indie smash so this would be a radical change of direction for him.