Donald Glover is planning on making his entrance to the MCU. The Community star, rapper, and creator of Atlanta is attached to produce and star in his own MCU film in the Sony Spider-Man universe. Glover is making a movie surrounding the obscure Spider-Man villain, Hypno-Hustler. Along with producing the film, Donald Glover will also take on the mantle of this lesser-known supervillain and become the Hypno-Hustler himself. The role is ripe for Glover to play, though the antagonist only appeared in a few issues. A creative approach to a Hypno-Hustler film could prove to be worthy of Glover’s talents.
Hypno-Hustler might not be Spider-Man’s biggest villain, but he might be one of the most cinematic. Wielding a hypnotic guitar and some groovy disco-era clothes, the Hypno-Hustler travels with his band, the Mercy Killers, and together they use their music to hypnotize audiences into giving them money.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
He doesn’t have a big history in the Marvel universe, but that leaves the character open to a broader interpretation. The movie is already in early development, but no release dates or early announcements have been made yet. Seeing Donald Glover join Sony’s Spider-Man universe as a villain might not be where most fans want to see him, but the character gives Glover enough room to leave his own mark on the MCU.
Donald Glover’s Movie with Sony
Lucasfilm Ltd.
Sony’s Spider-Man universe hasn’t inspired the greatest confidence with movies like Morbius, but the future of the franchise still has a lot of possibilities. On Sony’s list to release is Kraven the Hunter, Madame Web, and Spider-Woman, all films with a lot of potential. Sony is intent on giving themselves authorship over their own section of the Marvel multiverse, and this section of Spider-Man lore is rich with potential movies.
Glover’s Hypno-Hustler film isn’t quite on the list of scheduled releases yet. Though Deadline confirms that it is in the early stages of production, the plot is being kept under wraps. Glover plans on producing the movie, and Myles Murphy (Eddie Murphy’s son) will be writing the script. Despite this just being the very beginning of something, there is some confident talent in the film, and Glover has a reputation for making quality content. Atlanta has won several Emmys.
A Hypno-Hustler movie might seem a bit strange for some, but the character has serious potential for greatness. And in the hands of these creators, audiences are sure not to be disappointed. It would be an impressive accomplishment, and a unique treat to see Donald Glover make his own entrance to the MCU, instead of just being cast in another role.
Donald Glover in the Spider-Verse
Marvel Comics
Fans have wanted to see Donald Glover join the MCU for a while. Their pleas date all the way back to the 2012 film The Amazing Spider-Man, which ended up starring Andrew Garfield. Glover’s fans voiced some serious support for seeing Glover as the new Spider-Man. There are even stories that Glover’s appearance in a Spider-Man costume on the show Community inspired Brian Michael Bendis to create the Miles Morales character in the first place. There has always been a huge desire to see Glover as the web-slinger, but it looks like we’ll see him as his groovy enemy instead.
Hypno-Hustler is an interesting choice for a character. He’s a low-level villain that doesn’t have the most street-cred amongst comic book fans. He first appeared in Spider-Man #24 in 1978, created by Bill Mantlo and Frank Springer. Clearly inspired by the age of disco, Hypno-Hustler and his band the Mercy Killers were playing at a nightclub that Peter Parker happened to be attending. When Hypno-Hustler was caught trying to steal from the club’s safe he used his hypnotic equipment to mesmerize the club owner into giving him all his money. He then started to hypnotize the crowd into doing the same. Peter Parker quickly realized what was going on and dawned the Spidey suit to stop him. The villain has appeared here and there since then but has never managed to make it into the ranks of Spider-Man’s more formidable foes.
Glover’s interest in the character is said to be more of a creative one, and he’s a good match for the villain when you think about it. Hypno-Hustler has a distinct musical angle, which you don’t see in villains very often. When he produces the movie, there are sure to be a few references to Childish Gambino in there. Maybe Hypno-Hustler will come into his power as a rapper instead of a disco guitarist. The villain also has a lot of room for creative liberties. Due to his miniscule background and relative obscurity, Glover would be free to interpret the character in a big way. He could set it as a true-to-form disco period piece. Or he could make the villain into a modern raver. When you have a character without a lot of history, the possibilities are endless.
