Zack Snyder's next chapter in the 'Man of Steel' saga, 'Batman vs. Superman,' is said to kick off production this weekend with a large-scale football scene in Los Angeles, which means we're getting close to Warner Bros. announcing the entire cast and production details. So far speculation on who might be the new comic book bad guy has run the gamut from Bryan Cranston to Mark Strong, but could Oscar-winner Tom Hanks have a shot?

Perhaps not, but he certainly would be up for the job, or any other superhero role for that matter -- just as long as it's not one of those Nick Fury or Agent Coulson types.

Speaking with Showbiz 411 while out promoting his latest awards contender, 'Captain Phillips,' Hanks expressed interest in starring in a superhero movie as a superhero or a villain. And, frankly, he's a bit perplexed as to why this hasn't happened yet.

They don't ask me and I keep trying ... Come on, I can do it. Let me play a bad guy, let me play the bad guy against Batman. I'll do anything, call me. They've never asked. What do I have to do? God, I want to throw a shield at somebody. I want that. And I don't want to play the guy in the suit who tells the superheroes what's going on, I don't want to be that guy. 'Well, you know Batman ... Captain America, Iron Man, here's what we've discovered', I don't want to be that guy. I want to get in there, I want to play The Flash or something like that. They'll never give me a chance.

Every actor at some point has fallen victim to being type cast, and only getting offered hefty roles in Oscar bait films isn't the worst thing in the world. He's already portrayed the "real-life hero" in films like 'Saving Private Ryan' (soldier), 'Apollo 13' (astronaut) and 'Captain Phillips' (heroic captain), so it's about time he made this dream of his a reality.

Glenn CloseJohn C. Reilly and Bradley Cooper are three big names that surprised us with accepting roles in Marvel's upcoming 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' and Ben Affleck is set to return to the superhero 'verse as the next Batman, so why can't Hanks, who's delivered two buzzing performances this year alone -- the other one being Disney's 'Saving Mr. Banks' -- join in on the action?

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