5 Actors Who Could Be the Next Batman

The Ben Affleck era is already over and so it’s time to cast yet another actor as my favorite superhero, Batman. The truth is, I wasn’t going to post about this topic. After all, who needs another fanboy with no actual involvement in the project posting his thoughts on casting a movie? Well, then I read some of the mainstream articles and Twitter posts on the topic. Michael B. Jordan of Creed fame? Henry Golding of Crazy Rich Asians? For God’s sake, Robert Pattinson of Twilight?? If writers with more street cred than mine can post such awful suggestions, I feel it’s my duty to offer up some other ideas. So here it goes, five potential actors for the lead in Matt Reeves’ upcoming film, The Batman.

Photo Credit: Doug Inglish

Jake Gyllenhaal

Gyllenhaal is probably the most likely name on my list. He earned his fame with early movies such as Donnie Darko and Brokeback Mountain. Although those were solid performances, and he followed them up with other quality films like Jarhead and Source Code, he didn’t really win me over until 2014’s Nightcrawler. If you haven’t seen that one yet, you’re missing out. Batman may be a hero, but he’s also a rage-filled schizophrenic hiding behind Bruce Wayne’s mask as Gotham’s most famous philanthropic playboy. Nightcrawler proves Gyllenhaal could play the part to a T.

Photo Credit: GQ

Ryan Gosling

Gosling is another well-known actor that’s grown on me over the years. Many of his female fans might know him best for his roles in The Notebook and La La Land, but the movies that won me over are his turns as the nearly silent, brutal killer in Drive, the avenging drug-trafficker in Only God Forgives, and most recently, his leading role in the sci-fi masterpiece, Blade Runner 2049. He may look like the boy next door, but he can play dark and brooding with the best of them.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Ben Barnes

Barnes doesn’t yet have the marquee value of my first two picks, but his current role as Logan on the HBO hit, Westworld may soon change that. He got his big break as Prince Caspian in 2008’s The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian, but it’s the role of the twisted son who helps mold Westworld’s main antagonist, The Man in Black, where Barnes really shines. He excels as the charming, but morally compromised scion capable of earning your sympathy one minute and your loathing the next.

Photo Credit: WireImage

George Clooney

I know, Clooney already played the Caped Crusader in 1997’s Batman & Robin, a film I dubbed the worst Batman movie ever made back in a 2017 post. That’s precisely why I’m naming him here. Clooney wasn’t the reason that movie sucked so badly. Director Joel Schumacher, screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, and most of the supporting cast deserve that blame. If Reeves’ gets it into his head to make a movie about an aging, retired, Batman called back into action one last time, Clooney would be my pick.

Photo Credit: Nino Munoz

Ansel Elgort

Batman has traditionally been played by actors in their 30s, but if director Matt Reeves wants to go younger this time around, he could do a lot worse than 24-year-old Ansel Elgort. Passed over for the lead role in last year’s Solo: A Star Wars Story, Elgort’s still got an impressive resume for such a young man. Perhaps best known for his part in the teen drama, The Fault in Our Stars, my favorite of his roles to date is the lead in Edgar Wright’s stylish heist film, Baby Driver.

So far DC Entertainment hasn’t asked my opinion, but there it is. Take it for what it’s worth. While we’re talking about Batman, I have to plug my Joker fan-fiction “Everything Burns”. Check it out at the link below and if you like it, please share it on social media.

https://www.wattpad.com/454122912