In this week's episode of Creature Commandos, Batman officially made his DCU debut. He was technically featured in a previous episode when Amanda Waller was shown a vision of the future in which Batman was dead and impaled on a spike. We didn't get a good view of him then as he was almost entirely covered by his own cape, but in the most recent episode, we see him in his entirety and he's huge.
The DCU's Batman is massive. Out of all the live action interpretations of the Dark Knight, what we see in Creature Commandos most similarly resembles Ben Affleck's hulking Batman. Making Batman's first DCU appearance so similar to the DCEU Batman is an interesting choice.
Could it be that Gunn has found his Batman in a commonly fancasted actor?
Full disclosure, Batman is only shown for about one second and exactly one shot. There's not a ton to go off of. Speculating about Batman this early may seem premature, but Gunn’s recent comments tell us what is shown is very intentional. He said the design team showed him a lot of different material for Batman and that he wasn't ready to commit to most of it and asked they include more silhouette to keep things vague. That means whatever he was willing to commit to, for example, the size of Batman, has to be very intentional. Even so, it still may be too early to speculate, but speculation can be fun.
There is one actor commonly fancasted as Batman who resembles what we see in Creature Commandos more than anyone else. Batman’s huge physique in the show looks most like Alan Ritchson.
Alan Ritchson is one of the most commonly fancasted actors for Batman right next to Jensen Ackles, Glenn Powell, Scott Eastwood, and Jake Gyllenhaal. Simply Google “actors who could play Batman” and you won't find a list without Alan Ritchson. Go on Reddit and find any thread discussing who should play Batman, and, once again, Ritchson’s name is just about guaranteed to appear. The most common reason given for why Alan Ritchson should play Batman is his appearance with definitive focus on his physique and ability to maintain it.
Ritchson is best known for two roles: most recently, Jack Reacher in the Amazon Prime series Reacher and, many years ago, Thad Castle in Blue Mountain State. The two roles couldn't be more different. In Reacher, Ritchson plays a genius who worked for the US Military's internal police investigating crimes within the military. Jack Reacher now roams the country getting involved in all sorts of action packed trouble. In Blue Mountain State, Ritchson played an unintelligent, stereotypical jock who is a linebacker for a fictional college football team. In Reacher, Ritchson's character makes expert deductions and fights bad guys. In Blue Mountain State, his character puts an Oreo between his butt cheeks, runs down a field without dropping it, then secretly eats it. They truly couldn't be more different.
Of course, it's Ritchson's more recent work that makes him qualified to play Batman in many fans’ eyes, but is he right for the role?
Again, those that want Ritchson for the Caped Crusader in The Brave and the Bold cite his looks, general massiveness, and action experience as the reason for him taking the role. Ritchson is six foot three, making him only one inch shorter than David Corenswet, but he is much bigger overall. Casting him as Batman would certainly create an imposing presence for any criminal in Gotham.
Those that do not want Ritchson for the role generally cite his acting ability. Most fans don't seem to think he's a horrible actor, but the fans that do not want him to play Batman think he's not good enough. From what I've seen, he isn't the best actor in the world, but he certainly isn't terrible. In Reacher, he doesn't have to exhibit much range. Most lines really only need to be delivered in two or three different ways, and there isn't a lot of emotional material. However, he's no stranger to DC, having played Hawk in Titans. I thought he did great as Hawk, but this is another character that doesn't need a lot of range to play well.
Ritchson has also been lightly campaigning to play Batman. He's been quoted several times saying he wants to play Batman. Even if he isn't the best actor in the world, it's nice to know he is passionate about the potential role and would give it his all. It's unlikely that Gunn and Muschietti have decided on an actor for Batman yet, but maybe Alan Ritchson is who they're eyeing.
What do you think about Alan Ritchson taking on the role of Batman in the DCU? Is he the right man for the job? Let me know what you think in the comments!