DC Studios' Batman reboot director offered up his reactions to viral fan casts for the next Caped Crusader. Fan casting an actor to play the next Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, who will be introduced in The Brave and the Bold, has been one of the hottest topics since James Gunn's DCU began. Currently, the Dark Knight's DCU flick has no release date, but the script is in the works, with The Flash director Andy Muschietti and writer Christina Hodson signed on to reunite for the movie - a controversial decision that Gunn was forced to defend on social media.
The Brave and the Bold director Andy Muschietti spoke with CinemaBlend while promoting They Will Kill You and was asked whether he pays attention to the masses of online fan castings for the DCU's Dark Knight. The filmmaker played coy on the topic but hinted that he is often "curious" to see the fans' picks:
"I mean, curious yeah. There's always like... Yeah, curious."
The Brave and the Bold director nodded along with a resounding "mhmm" when asked by CinemaBlend whether he is "keeping an eye" on the Batman fan casts.
The filmmaker was joined for the They Will Kill You interview with Barbara Muschietti, his sister who will produce his DCU Batman reboot. While she shared the brother-sister duo's love for their audience, Barbara pointed out that "the one thing [they] get to do is to pick [their] cast:"
"I love our people, I love our audiences. But I think that the one thing we get to do is to pick our cast."
Casting the next Batman is a major job that will undoubtedly involve many key figureheads on The Brave and the Bold and at DC Studios. That will presumably include Andy Muschietti, James Gunn, and Peter Safran, with executives at Warner Bros. and incoming owner Paramount likely to sign off on the final choice.
Based on Gunn's previous casting rule, the next Batman actor is unlikely to be chosen before The Brave and the Bold's script is finalized. However, the Caped Crusader will be back on screens next year on October 1, 2027, in The Batman: Part 2, an Elseworlds tale continuing the saga of Robert Pattinson's Bruce Wayne.
Find out the two ways that DC Studios' two live-action Batmen will officially differ.
Biggest Fan Casts For The DCU's Batman
Arguably the most viral fan cast for the DCU's Batman has been Brandon Sklenar, who is best known for 1923, It Ends With Us, and The Housemaid. While many are convinced that Gunn has already chosen Sklenar as his Batman, that seems doubtful given that The Brave and the Bold still needs a finished script.
One also has to consider the Alan Ritchson of it all, as the Reacher star has actively campaigned to become the DCU's larger-than-life Batman. That said, Ritchson recently confirmed that to ScreenRant that he is in talks for a "messier" DCU role, seemingly taking himself out of consideration for the coveted hero.
Some lesser-known actors have also become viral fan casts, largely due to their distinctly Bruce Wayne-esque appearances. Masters of the Air actor Nate Mann and Love Story star Paul Anthony Kelly have often been suggested for the role, but, of course, don't carry much star power and aren't as proven talents, although that hasn't deterred Gunn at all in the past in choosing his latest leads.
There has also been speculation that Gunn might circle back to one of his Superman contenders, Tom Brittney, for Batman. The Granchester star was in the final three for the DCU's Clark Kent alongside David Corenswet (who landed the Kryptonian role) and Nicholas Hoult (who was instead cast as Lex Luthor).
One of the longest-standing Batman fan casts has been Supernatural and The Boys actor Jensen Ackles, who has voiced the Dark Knight before in animation. While there's no denying that Ackles has the talent to lead the Justice League opposite Corenswet, at 48 years old, he may have aged out the role.
Ultimately, fans shouldn't expect to see The Brave and the Bold choose its leads for some time, as DC Studios likely won't start production until after The Batman: Part 2 releases next year, possibly pushing the choice into 2028. But that still depends on how the DCU moves forward after the looming Paramount purchase.
