‘Powerless’: Alan Tudyk Talks Playing Batman’s Cousin Van Wayne In New NBC Sitcom

Alan Tudyk loves his new TV role. Tudyk plays Bruce Wayne/Batman’s cousin, Van Wayne, in the upcoming NBC workplace comedy, “Powerless.”

During the show’s panel at the Television Critics Association winter press tour on Wednesday, Jan. 18, the 45-year-old actor said that he finds his new character better than his original role on the TV series. “I wasn’t a Wayne before and now I am; totally better,” The Hollywood Reporter quoted Tudyk as saying. “It really ties into the superhero world.”

“He’s a fun character to play,” the “Firefly” alum said of Van (via Deadline), who runs Wayne Securities, a subsidiary of Bruce’s Wayne Enterprises. “He’s kind of happy in his own ignorance. He’s blithely stupid. … I look forward to playing him as long as I can.”

Before the show’s original premise was changed and its office environment was relocated from Retcon Insurance to Wayne Security, Tudyk’s character was named Del Heller — Retcon’s new claims supervisor who got the job because his father is the company’s CEO.

The insurance company setting was completely disregarded by new showrunners Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker when original creator Ben Queen departed the series after the pilot was filmed.

“15 weeks into this we thought that the insurance company angle wasn’t really generating the storylines we hoped,” Schumacker explained, according to TVLine. “We [then] landed on security products [after a sit-down with Warner Bros. TV and DC Comics CCO Geoff Johns] because we still wanted to do the idea that they’re working on stuff that makes everybody a little bit safer… After we had hit the security angle, we sat down with NBC, and they were the ones that suggested R&D (research and development). We loved it. It immediately generated stories.”

Tudyk, whose “Powerless” role comes after playing K-2SO in last year’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” said (via IGN) that he had no problems signing on to a new weekly series, especially when he thinks that the project is hilarious. “And this is funny. This is very funny,” he said of “Powerless.”

“Powerless” premieres on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 8:30 p.m. EST on NBC. Check out the synopsis for Season 1, episode 1, titled “Wayne or Lose,” below:

“In a world where humanity must cope with the collateral damage of Super Heroes and Super-Villains, Emily Locke (Vanessa Hudgens) begins her first day as Director of Research & Development for Wayne Security, a subsidiary of Wayne Enterprises that specializes in products that make defenseless bystanders feel a little safer. Full of confidence and big ideas, Emily quickly learns that her expectations far exceed those of her new boss Van Wayne (Alan Tudyk) and officemates, so it will be up to her to lead the team toward their full potential and the realization that you don’t need superpowers to be a hero.”