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It\u2019s official, Robert Pattinson is not going to be Batman in the DCU, as once and for all Matt Reeves has said explicitly that his universe is an \u201cElseworlds\u201d project not connected to the new, shared universe. And of course, that raises the question about who will actually play Bruce Wayne in the DCU.<\/p>\n
DCU head James Gunn has been 5,000% more open than his Marvel and DCEU counterparts, giving constant interviews, posting on social media, doing podcasts, everything. Now, in a new interview with The Ringer-Verse<\/a> (currently with just 5,000 views?) Gunn was asked about Batman casting:<\/p>\n \u201cI have guys I like. I have guys that are at the top of the list. One actor in particular\u2026 a pretty big star, wants to be Batman. We\u2019ve talked about it, but I don\u2019t think that\u2019s the case.\u201d<\/p>\n This has set off a flurry of speculation about who \u201cthe guys\u201d are and there are a few things we do know.<\/p>\n One, easily the most common fancast Bruce Wayne actor, Brandon Sklenar, is at least under consideration as Gunn has reiterated a few times he\u2019d been watching 1923 recently, a show in which Sklenar stars. <\/p>\n Second, the \u201cbig star\u201d Gunn is mentioning here is likely not Reacher\u2019s Alan Ritchson, who has previously campaigned to be Batman. Ritchson confirmed<\/a> he\u2019s spoken to Gunn about the role: \u201cWords have been exchanged about Batman. But I strongly don\u2019t think that Batman is in my future. I do think there is something in my future with DC. And I would like that to remain true.\u201d Now, fans are casting him in other DC roles like Booster Gold or Captain Atom (Ritchson says he isn\u2019t trying to reprise his role as Aquaman, which he played in Smallville two decades ago). <\/p>\n Who Gunn considers a \u201cbig star\u201d is unknown. I\u2019d say the most commonly thrown-around \u201cbig star\u201d name is Jake Gyllenhaal, but this would run counter to what Gunn did with Superman, casting the nearly-unknown David Corenswet in the part. Interestingly, Gyllenhaal almost played Batman in The Dark Knight trilogy, as he had a conversation about it with Christopher Nolan (his sister, Maggie, went on to star in The Dark Knight).<\/p>\n Current evidence would suggest that Gunn will steer away from a big name, as that\u2019s effectively what he\u2019s saying with that quote, at least in one specific instance. Ritchson is out, Sklenar does not seem to be off the table, if he\u2019s not under heavy consideration at present. The DCU is also a place where fancast dreams can come true, as seen recently with Aaron Pierre as John Stewart. But Gunn obviously does a whole lot of auditioning and screen testing, so it\u2019s not as if these things happen through popular vote. But it\u2019s nice, and rare, to see such transparency in this process. <\/p>\n Follow me on Twitter<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>,<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series<\/a> and The Earthborn Trilogy<\/a>.<\/p>\n