Reports of Ben Affleck possibly looking to
step down from the role of Batman after
Justice League have now turned into rumors of director Matt Reeves already having
someone in mind to play the Caped Crusader in the upcoming solo film,
The Batman.
If there's any truth to the latest rumor, actor Jake Gyllenhaal has emerged as next in line to don the cowl. Though we don't have any comment from Gyllenhaal himself regarding the current speculation, it appears that at one point the actor was at least interested in playing the Caped Crusader in a movie and even revealed how he might handle such an iconic role.
In 2015, Gyllenhaal appeared on The Howard Stern Show to discuss his movie
Southpaw. During his visit, Stern asked Gyllenhaal how he would've handled the Batvoice.
Stern: I wonder how you would have played Batman, though. Would you have been like, [deep voice] 'I’m Batman.' Do you change your voice for that or—
Gyllenhaal: No, I would have been like — if you’re hanging a guy by a string, right, and he’s like hanging upside down and you’re in a batsuit, he’d be like, [scared voice] ‘Who are you?!’ and I’d be like, [nonchalant] ‘I’m f—king Batman, you kidding me?’
Stern: Is that what you would have said? ‘I’m f—king Batman?’
Gyllenhaal: I wouldn’t say ‘f—k’ ‘cause it’s PG-13, but—
Stern: It would be cool if they bleeped you. You’d be like, ‘I’m f—king Batman, beep!’ What do you mean, you would have played it like, hey—
Gyllenhaal: 'I mean come on, man, look what I’m wearing!' It’s like, you know what I mean?
Stern: Yeah, but aren’t you trying to scare people as Batman? So wouldn’t you put on an ominous kind of a, [lowered voice] ‘I’m Batman’?
Gyllenhaal: Note to self. Don’t have Howard be your acting coach.
Stern: Is that right?
Gyllenhaal: I don’t know. I don’t know what I would do, and I will never have that opportunity, so I don’t know.
Stern: Maybe you ought to think it through so you’ll get the role the next time.
Gyllenhaal: I should have been on this show a lot earlier!
Can you imagine? Gyllenhaal was most likely joking around with that approach, but it certainly would've been quite the interesting attitude for the legendary DC character.
Gyllenhaal actually auditioned for the role in 2005's Batman Begins, and he was screenwriter David S. Goyer's first choice. The part eventually went to Christian Bale, who donned the batsuit for Christopher Nolan's critically-acclaimed Dark Knight trilogy.
Towards the end of the interview, you can almost hear the disappointment in Gyllenhaal's voice that he would never get the opportunity to suit up as The Caped Crusader... or will he? Let us kow what you think in the comments below! Would you like to see Jake Gyllenhaal as the next incarnation of Batman or do you prefer Ben Affleck?