With the DCU having kicked off in full force with Superman, the comic book community now has one question on its collective mind: Who will be the DCU's Batman? Mutliple candidates have popped up, with one of the strongest contenders being Alan Ritchson, of Reacher fame. The actor has been a popular fan cast for the Dark Knight for a while, and adding fuel to the fire was the fact that he previously revealed he'd had conversations with DC Studios' James Gunn to potentially join the franchise.
Now, it's official: The actor and studio are having conversations for him to step into the DCU. Speaking to Screen Rant to promote his latest film, Playdate, the Reacher star was asked whether or not there was hope for him to join the franchise, and if he were joining it, if he'd be interested to play a hero, or step into the world of the villains. In response, Ritchson revealed he is, actually, in conversations with DC, stating he let the company know he was on the market for something "messier" and "dirtier":
"Yeah. Yes. That's the conversation that I've been having with them is like, 'I want to play somebody a little messier.' And I told them, I said, if I'm going to do this, I described to them the kind of personality that I'd want to play and what that would mean to their world, and I think it's something everybody wants to see right now over there. So yes, I want to play somebody a little dirtier than your typical clean-cut protagonist."
The fact that he confirmed this is, frankly, quite unexpected, as it's not often that an actor who's the focus of so many fan casts is given the opportunity to meet with a studio about a role, let alone that actor themselves openly talking about the matter. The prospect of someone as talented and versatile as Ritchson joining the DCU is an incredibly exciting prospect.
Now, his choice of words is also intriguing. Reading into his comments, he never described a full-on villain. Instead, he described a layered, morally-complex individual. While his comments may lead some to think he's out of the running for Batman, there may still be some hope for that happening. In many adaptations and even DC's main continuity, Batman is not always depicted as a "clean-cut" hero. Many times, in fact, it's the complete opposite. Most importantly, James Gunn himself considers him being somewhat unhinged.
Case in point, during a costume fitting, Superman actor David Corenswet told Gunn he believed the suit looked huggable. Gunn agreed, and proceeded to use Batman as a point of comparison, offering insight into how he sees the Dark Knight:
"Even with Batman, if I was doing Batman, I could get into it. Like, Batman's a f—ing maniac, so, yeah, he puts on a f—ing scary bat costume and goes out and tries to scare people."
I understand how, for Gunn, this may be an instance of nerds like yours truly turning everything he says into a speculation hyperdrive, but it's worth noting that his description of the Dark Knight is akin to what the average folk would consider a "messy" character. Adding to that possibility, while speaking to Variety earlier in the year, Ritchson was asked about the possibility of joining the DCU. As mentioned, the actor responded that Batman was something he had discussed with Gunn:
"Well, it's not rumor that James Gunn is a fan. He said it himself. And am I a fan of James Gunn? Absolutely. I don't want to mislead people. Words have been exchanged about Batman. But I strongly don't think that Batman is in my future. I do think there is something in my future with DC. And I would like that to remain true."
Though the actor stated he didn't believe Batman was in the cards for his future, it doesn't necessarily mean the role is out of the question for him. Now, in the case that Ritchson's potential role isn't Batman, the "messy" label fits too many DC heroes to be able to accurately speculate on what the role could be. As such, all we can do is wait and see what DC Studios has in store for the actor.
What role do you think Ritchson could take in the DCU? Are you excited to see him join the franchise? Let us know in the comments!