“Everyone wants to play”: James Gunn talks about how all the big names from Hollywood want to play Batman

While Robert Pattinson is returning as Batman in Matt Reeves' Batman 2, there is still not confirmation regarding who will be playing Batman in the DCU film, The Brave and the Bold. It was one of the films that were announced to be on the way at the 2023 DCU Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.

The film is in development and so are some parts of the story. Moreover, James Gunn and Peter Safran have not decided upon who they want to cast as Batman in The Brave and the Bold. But Gunn spoke to IGN about the film and casting Batman.

Gunn said:

“I think you'd have a harder time finding actors who don't want to be Batman. He's the one character everyone wants to play. That's the truth."

James Gunn on casting Batman in The Brave and the Bold

One of the earliest description of The Brave and the Bold stated that the film will focus on not only Batman, but also his son, Damian Wayne. According to the comics, Damian is ten years old and thus his father, Bruce, is likely in his mid to late thirties. When IGN asked James Gunn if the actor who will be playing Batman/Bruce Wayne is also of that age, Gunn said:

“No, I think you have to wait to see the movie. Some things have changed. Plenty of things are in flux on what his situation is with his parentage and all that stuff, so I wouldn't take any of it – Yeah, I mean, the actor who wants to... Listen, first of all, I can't tell you the amount of big actors that have told me they want to be Batman."

It is not a shocking news that multiple actors want to play the DC hero. Batman is one of the most popular characters, not only in DC, but in media in general. Hence, playing him means a lot to most actors. Some of the biggest actors of the industry have played the character in the past, including George Clooney, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, and Robert Pattinson. Thus, now that the DC is rebooted as DCU, it is natural that many big actors would like to be the next Batman.

However, from the way Gunn talked about the character in the upcoming film, it looks like no one has been confirmed to be playing him. There are several actors who are eager to play him, but a decision is yet to be reached, and it might also affect parts of the story, especially the parts about Damian.

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Casting a character like Batman is no doubt extremely difficult given how many people wish to play the DC superhero. Hopefully, casting for the character will be confirmed soon and end online speculation. The film will be based on Grant Morrison’s version of the DC superhero and will be directed by Andy Muschietti.

Other than The Brave and the Bold, the upcoming DCU projects are Waller, Lanterns, Man of Tomorrow and Supergirl.