With The Dark Knight confirmed as returning to cinemas in 2015 alongside Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel for Superman vs. Batman movie, we’ve already been treated to a healthy dose of rumours about potential candidates to succeed Christian Bale under the cape and cowl when DC’s two most iconic characters clash in the hotly-anticipated team-up. Of course, it remains to be seen whether there’s a modicum of truth in any of these casting reports, but when’s that ever got in the way of a good scoop? Keep plucking enough names from thin air, and sooner or later someone is going to hit lucky…
Several sites have already got in on the act, throwing up the likes of Josh Brolin (Oldboy), Ryan Gosling (Only God Forgives), Joe Manganiello (True Blood), Richard Armitage (The Hobbit), Max Martini (Pacific Rim), Matthew Goode (Watchmen), Josh Duhamel (Transformers), Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes), Gerard Butler (300), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Brad Pitt (World War Z), Ben Affleck (Argo) and Jim Caviezel (Person of Interest) as possibilities for the role of Batman. And now we can add another name to that list, with Think McFly Think claiming that director Zack Snyder is looking at another Watchmen star in Jeffrey Dean Morgan, with the two apparently set to meet to discuss the role.
Meanwhile, the site is also reporting that Warner has been mulling over a potential Gotham City Police Department TV series taking place in the Nolanverse, set between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, and with Jonathan Nolan attached. While the article offers nothing in the way of a source, it should be noted that WB are keen to build a DC universe on the small screen (see Arrow and the upcoming spin-off The Flash), and this isn’t the first whisper of a potential Batman-less Batman TV series, with Bleeding Cool also reporting on rumours from Comic-Con last month. Still, it would be a huge surprise if Warner Bros. allowed its prized DC property to return to the small screen any time soon (even without regular appearances from Batman), but I guess time will tell…
Originally published August 7, 2013. Updated November 6, 2019.
