Who will playBatmanin the DCU? That is the question that has been asked in almost every interviewJames Gunnhas been part of, as well as in the responses to dozens of social media posts. In his lengthy interview with Josh Horowitz, Gunn could have just given the biggest hint as to who he wants as the latest actor to play Bruce Wayne on film – but we could be just reaching.
AsSupermancontinues to dominate box offices around the world, Gunn dipped into many topics across an hour-long interview, from Henry Cavill’s Superman departure, to future plans for characters like The Flash and Aquaman. However, one moment saw Horowitz directly asking if recurring fan-favorite contenderAlan Ritchsoncould be the DCU’s Batman.
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James Gunn is not a man who has been slow in shutting down a rumor or two, but this time he seemed to take a pause before holding back on directly answering the question. It went a bit like this:
Horowitz: “What do you think about the fans that talk about someone like Alan Ritchson?”
Gunn: “I am a big Alan Ritchson fan, both as an actor and a guy. I…just wait and see what happens.”
Obviously this is not Gunn saying Ritchson is the man for the role, but it was a much more hesitant response than many of his previous replies to similar questions about Batman casting. Following this, he was further pressed on the vibe of the new Batman, which led to him saying:
“It’s dictated by the material and the take. Actors, you know, actors aren’t important. [Laughs] Do I ever think about it? Sure there’s people out there I think about, but lets see where the script comes in. It’s not the furthest along thing. We have things that are much further along than that.”
Alan Ritchson Is Desperate to Be Batman
Although there are many actors who could play the next Batman, Alan Ritchson has gone on record several times to throw his hat in the ring. Answering the internet’s most asked questions forWiredback in March, Ritchson said:
“This is a… what’s amazing to me about this rumor of the Batman or the Batman desire and the zeitgeist is the fact that James Gunn has personally announced publicly on his Twitter or X or whatever, ‘LOL, he’s not playing Batman. He is not playing Batman!’ And this thing will not die. I get asked every day if I’m playing Batman. Yeah, would I play Batman? Yes. Would I pay handsomely to be Batman? You wouldn’t even have to pay me to be Batman. I would, yeah, I would don the suit. ‘Gotham is mine.’ Look at that. I don’t even have to practice. It just comes out naturally.”
Gunn’s new response to the mention of Ritchson as a possible Batman contender is obviously not a certain yes or no, but it is a much more hesitant and cagey reply than many of his other responses. This could mean that Gunn is hopingthe script forThe Brave and the Boldis a fit for Ritchson to take on the role, or it could be that he has the Reacher star tagged for a different DCU role already. There are many more movies to come, and many months to go before we find out who will be playing many of the other DC characters that will be making up the franchise.
