Aside from the announcement that Ben Affleck is set to don the cape and cowl as The Dark Knight, we’d had little in the way of official news from Zack Snyder’s upcoming Man of Steel sequel Batman vs. Superman, and instead we’ve had to trawl through endless rumour and speculation, much of which has centred around the casting of Lex Luthor.
First up came word that Mark Strong was set to swap Green Lantern’s Sinestro for the role of the billionaire industrialist and criminal genius before the notoriously unreliable CosmicBookNews shattered what little rep it had left by stating categorically that Bryan Cranston was 100% nailed on in the role as part of a six-film deal with Warner Bros. for the DC Cinematic Universe, and that everything would be confirmed following the season finale of Breaking Bad some six weeks ago.
Since then, attention has turned to the possible inclusion of Wonder Woman, The Flash and Nightwing, but the rumour mill has since reverted back to Luthor (presumably because of Zack Snyder’s potential confirmation of his inclusion during the Man of Steel fan event), spitting out a couple of new names as potential candidates. First up came Terry O’Quinn (Lost), a natural fit for the role seeing as he has no hair and all, while reports are now circulating that British actor James Purefoy (The Following) has turned down the role outright, refusing to even meet with the studio as he “wanted absolutely nothing to do with it”. And if that’s not enough rumour to keep you ticking over until we get some real news, El Mayimbe is also suggesting that Watchmen star Jackie Earle Haley tested for an unspecified role (he’s bald, must be Luthor), only for Snyder and WB to pass on him.
Batman vs. Superman is set for release on July 17th 2015, with Ben Affleck (Bruce Wayne / Batman) joining returning Man of Steel stars Henry Cavill (Clark Kent / Superman), Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Diane Lane (Martha Kent) and Lawrence Fishburne (Perry White). It’s said that Gal Gadot (Fast & Furious 6), Elodie Yung (G.I. Joe: Retaliation) and Olga Kurylenko (Oblivion) are in contention for the role of Diana Prince, while Adam Driver (Girls), Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl) and Ezra Miller (We Need to Talk About Kevin) have all been mentioned as potential candidates for Dick Grayson.
Originally published November 14, 2013. Updated December 13, 2019.
