Why Blackstar From Jupiter's Legacy Looks So Familiar
Having superpowers can seem like the ultimate wish-fulfilment fantasy, but actually being a superhero is a different beast — especially if you're a second-generation crimefighter trying to live up to your legendary parents' reputations. That's the hook behind the upcoming Netflix show Jupiter's Legacy, an eight-episode series based on the comic books by Mark Millar, which Netflix acquired back in 2017.
The superheroes stuck in their parents' shadows are known as The Union of Justice, which is led by husband and wife superheroes Sheldon Sampson/The Utopian and Grace Sampson/Lady Liberty, who will be played by Josh Duhamel and Leslie Bibb. Rounding out the team are Brainwave (Ben Daniels), Skyfox (Matt Lanter), and The Flare (Mike Wade).
But every superhero needs a great villain, season 1's villain will be Blackstar, who also shares his name with a David Bowie album. Blackstar is a Thanos-like alien warlord whose chest is made of antimatter. He's already responsible for the genocide of one alien species, and it's up to the Union of Justice to stop him from destroying Earth.
Blackstar will be played by former professional wrestler and current professional badass Tyler Mane. The hulking Mane is known for playing menacing roles, and here's where you've probably seen him. At 6'8", he's difficult to miss.
Tyler Mane made his feature film debut in X-Men
Blackstar isn't Tyler Mane's first supervillain role — with his gigantic physique and intimidating demeanor, Mane was practically born to beat up on superheroes. The Saskatchewan-born Mane worked as a professional wrestler for 14 years before making his feature film debut as Sabretooth in the 2000 X-Men film. The role of Sabretooth was originally supposed to go to Kevin Nash, Mane's former wrestling tag team partner, but Nash had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict.
Sabretooth, for those unfamiliar, is an imposing mercenary with the reflexes of a big cat and the claws to match, along with fast-regenerating healing powers like Wolverine's. Sabretooth returned as the main villain in the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. The film reimagined the character as Victor Creed, the half-brother of Wolverine who grows up to become his nemesis, Sabretooth. That was bad news for Tyler Mane, who doesn't exactly resemble Hugh Jackman. Sabretooth was recast with Liev Schreiber.
Tyler Mane played one of the greatest warriors of all time in Troy
Four years later, Tyler Mane was again able to put his gargantuan frame to good use by landing the role of Ajax in the 2004 Trojan war epic Troy. In both The Iliad and the 2004 film adaptation of it, Ajax the Greater is reputed to be the strongest warrior in the Greek army and was pretty much the closest thing the ancient Greeks had to a superhero. "King Ajax is one of those phenomenal characters in history that you hope you get a chance to play, and I was lucky enough to do," Mane later said.
The version of the character played by Mane caused lots of carnage in the film before Trojan hero Hector (Eric Bana) finally struck him down in a one-on-one fight. But the Ajax of The Iliad is arguably even more awesome. Had the film stuck to The Iliad's version of events, it would have included a scene where Ajax single-handedly held off the entire Trojan army. It's a shame Mane didn't get a chance to pull it off.
Tyler Mane stole all his scenes in Playing with Fire
In 2019, Tyler Mane showcased some surprising comedic abilities when he landed the role of Axe in the comedy film Playing with Fire. Mane was cast along with fellow ex-wrestler John Cena, as well as comedy heavyweights Keegan Michael-Key, John Leguizamo, and Judy Greer.
The story follows a crew of macho smokejumpers, (firefighters who handle California's many wildfires) who rescue three precocious girls and have to babysit them. Mane played "Axe," a hulking, bearded smokejumper of few words, who gets his nickname from the axe he carries around everywhere. Sure enough, Axe winds up bonding with the girls over My Little Pony.
Playing silent, hulking figures comes naturally to Tyler Mane — his other most famous role was Michael Myers in the two Halloween reboots directed by Rob Zombie. But the ex-wrestler can do a lot without having to say much.