It’s a great day to be a DC fan: from Supergirl to Swamp Thing to Creature Commandos, James Gunn and Peter Safran have announced a veritable mountain of new content to look forward to in their rebooted imagining of the DC Cinematic Universe. While a few small tastes of the old franchise will remain (Matt Reeves’ Batman isn’t being wiped out, thank goodness), a vast majority of content in the Gunn/Safran DC Universe will be brand new shows and movies, featuring a gaggle of beloved characters that have yet to get their time to shine in live-action. One of the most exciting announcements from today was the news of a Booster Gold TV series, which will be the first time the character has featured in his own live-action project for DC. But now that we know it’s happening, when can fans expect a Booster Gold series, and who’s involved?
Who is Booster Gold?
If the name doesn’t ring a bell, don’t worry—Booster Gold (despite his popularity among comic book fans) hasn’t popped up in any major cinematic projects for DC so far (unless you count a short-lived stint on Legends of Tomorrow. For those unfamiliar with the character, Booster Gold (aka Michael Jon Carter) is a superhero famous for his imposter syndrome. He’s a do-gooder from the near-future who has traveled back in time and uses his advanced technology to fool everyone into thinking he’s a superhero.
Describing the character, Peter Safran called Booster Gold “(A) total fan favorite, as you guys know … A loser from the future who uses his basic future technology to come back to today and pretend to be a superhero.”
He’s not a bad guy, per-se, but the comic Booster Gold (who first made his debut in 1986) took up the superhero mantle for praise and attention—not exactly the squeaky-clean reason for crime fighting most would expect. Armed with technology from the future, Booster Gold seeks fame and fortune with his newfound ‘powers,’ but his thirst for attention and lack of actual ability often results in him causing more problems than he solves. Sill, despite the deceptive nature of his powers, Booster Gold does eventually resolve to try and be a genuine hero—although, when you don’t have any powers, that can be a tall order.
When will the Booster Gold series release?
With a series officially in the works, the big question becomes when it will hit streaming—and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s safe to say that a Booster Gold series isn’t coming to our screens any time soon. Gunn and Safran revealed that their new slate will arrive no sooner that 2025, with projects premiering through 2027 as the first installment in their plan for revamping DC’s live-action projects.
So, optimistically, 2025 sounds like the soonest we can hope to see the Booster Gold series, while more conservative estimates might land it towards the tail end of the slate in 2027. It’s worth noting, though, that this isn’t the first time the character has been announced for live action. Back in 2016, Greg Berlanti and Zach Stentz had a Booster Gold film in the works that never saw the light of day.
Who will star in Booster Gold?
The other major question besides when we’ll get to see Booster Gold is who will bring the wannabe hero to life—and if James Gunn’s hints are anything to go by, it sounds like DC has already found their live-action Booster Gold:
“I think of it basically, as the story of a superhero’s imposter syndrome. How did he deal with that? How does he try to use this future technology to be loved by people today? What is really at the base of that, and it’s a character study, that’s going to be a very different type of show. We are talking to an actor about this right now. I think that’s going to happen.”
So Gunn and Safran seem to already have an actor in mind (and in talks) but just who that actor is is anyone’s guess. In the past, Booster Gold’s been played on the small screen by Eric Martsolf (in a short turn on Smallville) and Donald Faison (on Legends of Tomorrow), and the character’s backstory doesn’t demand and specific traits, so it’s safe to say that pretty much any actor could be up for the part.
(featured image: DC Comics)
