Hudson Williams Shock: Heated Rivalry Star Joins Timothée Chalamet In 'Uncastable' Nightwing Row

Hudson Williams has inserted himself into the Nightwing casting frenzy in the US, tagging DC Studios boss James Gunn 'over Christmas' and asking, 'Let's grab a coffee,' after posting a photo of himself holding the comic Nightwing: Year One.​

That one gesture has now metastasised into another sprawling argument about a role fans treat like sacred property, with Williams' name dragged into the same sentence as Timothée Chalamet and a parade of other suggestions. The Tab's reporting captures the odd modern truth here, that a casting rumour can become a cultural event long before any studio confirms there is even a film to cast.​

Nightwing is Batman's adopted son and the first Robin, a sidekick who grew up, struck out alone and built a separate identity. He is also described as 'widely considered to be the hottest man in comic books', with one particular physical feature so fetishised that DC has leaned into it via a real series titled Nothing Butt Nightwing.​

A few basics are solid enough to state plainly. Williams wants the part. He has publicly courted Gunn. A Nightwing writer has publicly encouraged the idea. Everything else is opinion, projection and the internet doing what it does.​

Hudson Williams And The Nightwing Casting Curse

The Tab calls Nightwing 'the most uncastable role in Hollywood', and the phrase feels less like exaggeration than weary diagnosis. Every time a new fancast surfaces, the conversation follows the same grimly entertaining script, enthusiasm, revulsion, horny jokes, then hours of people arguing as if they are shareholders.​

Williams is an especially easy lightning rod because Heated Rivalry has given him momentum and because he was unabashed about wanting more. He did not leak interest through a trade publication or let a rumour swirl. He waved the comic, tagged the decision maker, and watched the crowd form.​

Some of the pushback is not really about him at all. One commenter quoted in the piece rolled their eyes at the whole premise, writing, 'People debating on whether Timothée Chalamet or Hudson Williams should be Nightwing when neither of them should'. Another leaned hard into the fantasy, urging, 'Please, James gunn let Hudson Williams play Nightwing and just put him in the tightest, most skin-tight costume, and he'll absolutely kill it'.

​It is easy to sneer at that sort of talk, but it also speaks to what studios quietly understand. Nightwing's appeal is not only about plot, it is about vibe, charisma, and a very online kind of longing that can be monetised.

Hudson Williams, James Gunn And A Writer Steps In

Williams' 'coffee' post might have stayed as a fleeting meme if Scott Beatty had not added a stamp of authority. Beatty, a Nightwing writer, said there was a 'fair amount of buzz' around Williams after Heated Rivalry and then pushed Gunn to take him seriously.​

'James, I think you should give Hudson your active consideration when casting the new DC film universe's Dick Grayson... And I would be more than okay if you adapted Nightwing: Year One as the former Boy Wonder's feature film debut,' Beatty wrote this month. It is a striking endorsement, but it is not a casting announcement, and no public response from Gunn or DC Studios.​

Earlier suggestions mentioned in the article include Finn Wolfhard from Stranger Things, Chalamet, Brandon Sklenar, Josh Heuston, Milo Manheim and Jack Champion. It also points to Brenton Thwaites, who played Nightwing in the TV series Titans, as a continuing favourite.​

So Williams is not being uniquely judged. He is joining a tradition where nobody can agree, everybody is certain, and the only predictable outcome is that the internet will take credit for whatever happens next.