Over the past few weeks the rumour mill has been working overtime, throwing up virtually ever actor in Hollywood as potential candidates to succeed Christian Bale as The Dark Knight in Warner Bros. hotly-anticipated Man of Steel sequel Batman vs. Superman. Just yesterday, we reported the latest names to be brought up as possibilities – Wes Bentley (Ghost Rider, Interstellar), Luke Evans (Fast & Furious 6, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug), Ben Affleck (Daredevil, Argo) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, Brokeback Mountain), if you’re interested – and now we have a few comments from geek favourite Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle) – who appears to have removed himself from contention by telling Entertainment Weekly that he’d make a terrible Batman.

“I wonder if my throat could take it,” says Fillion, referring to Bale’s Dark Knight growl. “I think I’d make an excellent Bruce Wayne; I think I’d make a terrible Batman.” The actor, who is no stranger to DC Comics having voiced Green Lantern in several animated projects, also offered up a word of warning to fans, stressing that their lobbying for certain actors is unlikely to have any bearing on the casting of the next Caped Crusader. “If you wanted to see a particular person as Batman, I think one of the worst things you could do is shove it down someone’s throat as far as the new director of Batman or the new producers of Batman. Probably the worst thing you could do if there’s someone you want to be Batman is sort of rally.”

So, that’s one candidate down…