Nivin Pauly enters LCU as villain Walter in ‘Benz’ | VIDEO

Its official! Actor Nivin Pauly is stepping into the Lokesh Cinematic Universe (LCU) as the ‘certified Baddie’ Walter in director Bakkiyaraj Kannan’s Benz, starring Raghava Lawrence in the lead.

The director took to X to share the link to the character promo, that the makers released on Wednesday.

The promo reveals Pauly in a whole new avatar – decked in gold, holding a bloody hammer, with a bloody face sporting a maniacal grin flashing golden teeth. The film marks Pauly’s return to Tamil cinema after Gautham Ramachandran’s Richie and Ram’s Yezhu Kadal Yezhu Malai; only this time he takes on a full-fledged no-nonsense villain role in a high-stakes drama.

The promo also hints at a possibility of Pauly having a double-role in this film.

Unlike previous LCU films, Benz is the first film in the universe which is not directed by Kanagaraj. As huge interest and anticipation build around the LCU’s next installment, with its grand production scale and high expectations, Benz is expected to be one of 2025’s biggest commercial films.

Directed by Kannan, who is known for Remo and Sultan, and written and co-produced by Lokesh Kanagaraj, Benz will be looking to recreate the success of its predecessors Kaithi and Vikram, combining its gritty intensity with a whole new cast and storyline.

Kanagaraj is currently working on the post-production of his directorial next, Coolie, starring superstar Rajinikanth. The film also features big names such as Nagarjuna Akkineni, Upendra Rao, Shruti Haasan, Sathyaraj and Soubin Shahir. It is slated to release in August 2025.

Pauly, on the other hand, has wrapped up filming for Baby Girl, and is gearing up for Akhil Sathyan’s next project, tentatively titled The Ghost Story.