Alan Ritchson is one of the most common fancasts for the Caped Crusader within the newly birthed DCU. He’s proven he can act in Reacher and is not a stranger when it comes to superhero universes having starred as Hawk in Titans and made an appearance as Aquaman in Smallville, and he definitely has the physical presence to be a very menacing version of Batman. Although, he’s still most recognizable to many folks as Thad Castle from Blue Mountain State.
Now, Ritchson’s Reacher co star Roberto Montesino has weighed in on Ritchson playing the Dark Knight, and he loves the idea. Speaking to ScreenRant, Montesino had the following to say:
“What would he bring to that role? First of all, his work ethic, his research, his command of a character. For example, in Lee Child's books, when you're reading the book? Reacher walks into a room, and there are three pages of thought; everything that he's clocking. How do you do that without those words? He does it with his face, with his eyes. And he said to me once, ‘Every movement of your eye indicates to the audience a new thought.’”
Comparing the subtle facial expressions of Jack Reacher to the quiet, brooding nature of Bruce Wayne is an interesting take on the matter, one that many probably would not think of on their own. Expressing emotions under the cowl Batman wears is something complex for an actor. With half of their face covered by a mask, it makes the task much more difficult.
Montesino continued to express his approval of Ritchson as Batman by saying, “So, he would kill Batman. Why did Tom Cruise pick Reacher? Because he was so well-written and so complex in stillness. Batman's the same kind of thing. He's very stoic; he's got a mask. I think he would be the best Batman we've ever had. We've had some good ones, but I think he would be the best Batman we've ever had.”
Alan Ritchson has gone on record numerous times saying he would love to play the role. After expressing his initial excitement, he later said he would play the character completely for free.
In Creature Commandos, we were given two looks at the DCU’s Batman. Although, they were fairly different. One showed a Batman dead and impaled on a spear that seemed to be wearing an all black suit while the other showed a very much alive and gigantic Batman that could have been wearing all black, but also could have the classic blue. Take a look at those images below.
When the alive version of Batman was shown, there was a lot of speculation from fans. They wondered if that version of Batman was any sort of indicator as to what the live action version of Batman would look like, but, if anyone matches that appearance, it’s Alan Ritchson.
Unfortunately, we won’t see Batman in the DCU for quite a while. It’s extremely unlikely that he’ll show up in Superman, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, Lanterns, or any other DCU project before 2027 except for Clayface as that story takes place in Gotham City. Ever since The Batman: Part II was pushed back to 2027, we’ve known that The Brave and the Bold, the DCU’s first Batman story feature his son Damian Wayne as Robin, would be coming out after it. This was unfortunate news for a lot of fans that want to see a Batman connected to a wider DC universe sooner rather than later.
The decision to wait to include DC’s arguably most popular character in their new universe until at least three years after it starts has been questioned by many fans, but with so many actors playing Bruce/Batman recently (Pattinson, Affleck, Keaton, Bale), there is logic to the decision.
What do you think of Alan Ritchson as Batman? Are you as supportive as Roberto Montesino? Let us know in the comments!