Ben Affleck’s Batman Replacement Casting Receives Disappointing Update from DC Boss
Written by Luck Wilson on June 28, 2023
DC Studios won’t be casting Ben Affleck’s Batman replacement for a while.
James Gunn’s DCU will officially introduce a brand-new Batman with a “big part” in the universe, set to be played by a new actor, taking over from the DCEU’s Ben Affleck and existing alongside Robert Pattinson’s Elseworlds take in The Batman.
Fans have worked up plenty of ideas for who could play the next Dark Knight – including 12 actors listed by The Direct. However, DC has a big problem in casting the new Batman and working around Matt Reeves’ The Batman plans.
The DCU’s Batman Casting Isn’t Close
DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn was recently asked by a fan on Instagram how long it will be before the DCU’s Batman is cast for the upcoming The Brave and the Bold reboot, to which he confirmed the decision is “miles and miles away.”
dabaroni57: “How close are we to a casting for Batman?”
James Gunn: “Miles and miles away.”
Gunn has previously confirmed that, contrary to his appearance in the new timeline at the end of The Flash, George Clooney will “absolutely not” portray the DCU’s Batman, with the role instead going to a “new actor.”
In a post on Bluesky Social – via Home of DCU – the DCU boss has confirmed that “Batman will be Bruce Wayne and the actor isn’t cast yet.”
The disappointing update comes after Gunn announced the casting of his first superhero in David Corenswet’s Superman, who will take the lead for the DCU’s big-screen debut, Superman: Legacy.
Additionally, Gunn is expected to cast more superheroes for Superman: Legacy in the members of The Authority ahead of their DCU ensemble blockbuster.
The DC boss has also already cast the members of the Creature Commandos for their animated Max solo series which will release in 2024.
When Will DC Studios Cast the New Batman?
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Superman: Legacy is expected to feature “Superman joining a world in which superheroes already exist” – including The Authority – but will Batman be one of them?
As Superman hits theaters in July 2025 just three months before the Elseworlds tale of The Batman 2 arrives in October 2025, it would be surprising to see a new Dark Knight appear on screens so soon after the return of Robert Pattinson.
But this doesn’t come as a huge surprise as Gunn already called The Brave and the Bold “the introduction of the DCU’s Batman” during the slate reveal.
The movie just recently found a director in The Flash‘s Andy Muschietti (who has already two Batmen on screen in Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton), although no script has been written and a writer has yet to be hired amid the ongoing writers’ strike causing trouble for Hollywood.
Previously, with reference to the Superman casting, Gunn confirmed he avoids casting until “after the script is finished or close to finished.” So, if that also applies to projects he will oversee but not direct, Batman may not be cast for upwards of a year, or even longer if the strike continues too long.
With Superman: Legacy set to film around a year and a half before release, Brave and the Bold may not film until early 2025 or later. This ought to place the DCU’s Batman casting in mid-to-late 2024 – based on how Corenswet landed the Man of Steel role around six months before filming.
The Brave and the Bold hasn’t yet set an official release date, but Gunn confirmed it won’t be coming out within “the same six-month period” as The Batman 2, placing it in mid-2026 at the earliest.
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