The Bat is dead, long live The Bat. With Nolan‘s trilogy well and truly in the ground and Christian Bale‘s Bruce Wayne off living the high life in Italy with Selina Kyle and a string of his mother’s pearls, we’re going to have to get over our collective love of the seven onscreen iterations of Gotham’s favorite son. And sooner than we might have thought: with Batman Vs. Superman having been announced in Hall H at this years’ ComicCon, a new incarnation of Der Fledermausmann will almost certainly be winging his way to cinemas very shortly. The question remains, however, as to who will play him.
We’ve written articles aplenty on the top 5 actors/actresses we’d like to see take on different roles through the DC and Marvel universes, but this will be our first with an eye towards recasting. As such, this time around we’re going to try something a little different: all of the actors who appear would, we think, be solid choices to face off against Henry Cavill‘s Superman, and, at some point, to helm their own standalone film, but they might not be ones you’d expect (or necessarily agree with). Since each of them would provide a unique take on the character, here they are in no particular order:
5. Taylor Kitsch
Our initial thought was to have The Lone Ranger‘s Armie Hammer appear here, but given he was previously cast as Batman in in George Miller‘s 2008 attempt at a Justice League movie and that he stands at 6’5″, 4 inches taller than Cavill’s Superman, he might be a bit too All-American for The Dark Knight. An actor in a similar position, however, would have to be Taylor Kitsch. Just last year, Kitsch had the potential to become the biggest movie star on the planet with his leading roles in two $200 million blockbusters, Battleship and John Carter. Due to being respectively a derivative rip off of a beloved board game and terribly marketed, both movies were enormous flops (though they eventually went on to at least make their money back).
As such, Kitsch, through no fault of his own, may be considered more or less unbankable, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be allowed a chance with an established property like the Batman franchise. His role as a scarred-up former navy seal turned drug dealer in Oliver Stone‘s Savages has proven he can do darkly intense, plus, as Cajun energy-thrower Remy LeBeau AKA Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, he already has experience in the superhero genre. Kitsch, at the very least least, wins out over Hammer in terms of physicality: Superman needs to loom over Batman. In any case, with The Lone Ranger seemingly set to be the newest summer tent-pole to collapse, DC could do worse than a man with experience starring in huge-budget genre pieces, and nothing left to lose.
4. Jon Hamm
With Batman vs. Superman presumably due to pick up fairly shortly after the events of Man of Steel, it seems unlikely that DC are going to want the new cinematic Batman to be in his infancy, too. With his origin story last told less than a decade ago, it would make sense for Zack Snyder to skew towards an older Bruce, someone with the wit and experience to take on Superman himself. As such, Jon Hamm might be an interesting choice: his name has previously been bandied around in contention with the Superman part, but, based on what we’ve seen of him so far, he could equally play a tormented Dark Knight. Though he doesn’t have much experience on the action front, Hamm could definitely bring a certain world-weary cynicism to the role that would nicely counterpoint Cavill’s youthful idealism.
In striking a balance between Batman and Superman, it’s likely the new film will have less time for Bruce Wayne as a character, making it vital to do something with Batman himself. As such, where better to draw inspiration from than Frank Miller‘s The Dark Knight Returns? The 42 year-old Hamm isn’t quite the grizzled Clint Eastwood sort just yet (Eastwood himself, at 83, is now sadly far too old to don the cowl, failing an adaptation of Batman Beyond), but his performance as Don Draper showcases the perfect balance of charm and self-loathing. If the studio’s looking for a Caped Crusader who instantly feels like he has a little more history behind him, then Hamm could be a Clooney beater (joke).
3. Chris O’Donnell
Of all the entries on the list, this one promises to raise the ire of Bat-fans around the globe more than any other. “Chris O’-freaking’Donnell“, I hear you cry, “holy rusted metal, nipple-adorned, whiny, punk-ass Robin Chris O’Donnell?” To which I would respond, “Yes, the very same.” It’s easy to dismiss actors because of past sins – his pun-tastic interpretation of Mr. Freeze would surely result in Arnold Schwarzenegger being left out in the cold *obligatory groan* – but it’s sometimes worth remembering the good work they’ve put in along the way. O’Donnell first came to public attention back in 1992 in Scent of a Woman alongside Al Pacino – Pacino walked away with his first Oscar, long overdue, while O’Donnell received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
In fact, to mount a true defense, the character of Robin on screen – excluding Joseph Gordon-Levitt‘s debatable incarnation – has been unlikeable. Robin is there, to an extent, as wish fulfillment for the audience: he’s the brave, tragic kid who gets Batman out of scrapes. In practice, however, the Schumacher take on the character was fundamentally annoying. In any case, it’s been more than 15 years since Batman & Robin in which time O’Donnell has grown up, raised a family, and is now turning in respectable work as NCIS Special Agent G. Callen on NCIS: Los Angeles. He’s 43 (Robin is 43!), and, when all is said and down, could provide a more down-the-line, rough-and-ready approach in the role to which he once played second fiddle.
2. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
This one’s sort of a gimme. The end shot of The Dark Knight Rises is of Joseph Gordon-Levitt‘s Robin John Blake standing in the Batcave as the platform he’s on slowly rises from the water. Given the title of the film, this could be taken to mean that it’s not referring to Bruce Wayne’s “resurrection” but the birth of a new Dark Knight. All the logical problems aside that would surround Blake’s taking on the mantle – he’s living alone beneath a care home with no funds apart from a police pension (maybe), no training, no equipment, etc., etc. – recent statements by both Nolan and Snyder suggest that’s the last we will be seeing of the Nolanverse. In any case, it’s clear that Batman vs. Superman requires the real McCoy, Bruce Wayne himself, instead of just an impersonator.
Taking this into account, though, there’s no reason why JGL couldn’t simply play Bruce/Batman himself in this new continuity. It might take audiences a moment to get over his presence in Rises, but that’s something for the marketing team to worry about and JGL is a more than capable/bankable enough actor to carry a Batman film himself (well, Batman/Superman). The case could be made that he’s too wiry, too slight, for the part, but tell me this: while watching Looper, were you at any point concerned by his physicality (or lack thereof)? JGL went toe-to-future-time-traveling-self-toe with Bruce Willis in that film and if someone can convincingly take on John McClane and not end up looking like a chump, that guy might just, perhaps, be Batman material.
1. Idris Elba
Idris Elba‘s inclusion here shouldn’t really be controversial. He’s an up-and-coming face who seems likely to become an out-and-out star any day now. He won a Golden Globe for his performance as the title character in the second series of BBC’s Luther while his supporting role in HBO’s The Wire made him a cult figure in the States. He’s shortly to play then freedom fighter Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, which, if done right, has “Oscar bait” written all over it. In the last two years he’s starred in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Prometheus, Pacific Rim, and soon Thor: The Dark World. Following his casting in the original Thor, however, there was a collective freakout by particular comic book purists and, well, racists that Heimdall, the fictional personification of the Norse sentry to Asgard, was being played by a black dude.
Fortunately – for Marvel and for mankind in general – that seems to have blown over (although similar comments surfaced when Michael B. Jordan was rumoured for the role of Johnny Storm/the Human Torch), but could DC’s fear of a backlash prevent a bloke with the credibility and, indeed, suitability of Idris Elba from being cast as Batman? Hopefully not, because he might well be the best man for the job: magnetic and brooding, Elba’s not only proven he can play American but could bring an understated, self-effacing humour to the role that could do a lot to counter Bale’s portrayal as the character as an (understandably) moody bastard. We’re not saying it will happen, we’re not saying it should happen; we are saying that there’s no reason for Elba not to be one of the front runners to play Batman in Batman vs. Superman, apart from perhaps 60 years of comic book history and when did breaking from that ever pay off for a comic book film? Oh, wait: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, Rises, Thor, The Avengers…
Well, that’s our list, take it or leave it. So, what do you think? Are there some nice, perhaps somewhat out-of-the-box choices on there or does each any every one of them make your hackles rise? Would you like to give Chris O’Donnell a second shot in the DC-verse? Do you think Taylor Kitsch should be barred from the set of every major movie franchise for the foreseeable future? Whatever you think, we want to hear it!