The next Batman

[Edd Grayson]

Who should it be? My money's on James Franco.

[johnnygobbs]

I hope not.

[Edd Grayson]

I'm not sure if Michael Fassbender could do Batman. He was great at Magneto but they are very different.

[The Dark Knight]

I like to see Batman as Batman, so I'd like an actor who doesn't bring baggage and is relatively unknown. A star waiting to happen. People will go, how can he be Batman? And then the movie will come out and people will say how were we so blind?

[Edd Grayson]

So you want them to do something like the makers of Superman did when they cast Christopher Reeve?  If it happens this way, how will it turn out?

[The Dark Knight]

So you want them to do something like the makers of Superman did when they cast Christopher Reeve?  If it happens this way, how will it turn out?

A zillion times better than James Franco, I'll tell you that.

[Edd Grayson]

We don't know if it'll be Franco or Fassbender or an unknown.

[The Dark Knight]

I am supremely confident Franco's name won't even be raised. And if it were, the boardroom would erupt in laughter. I don't hate the guy, but he's not Batman. No chance whatsoever.

[Edd Grayson]

People said the same thing about Michael Keaton...

[Silver Nemesis]

Fassbender is a very good actor, but fans are suggesting him and Benedict Cumberbatch for pretty much every role these days. I'd be happy to see him in a Batman film, but not as Batman.

And James Franco – I just don't think he's right for the part at all. I've got nothing against the guy. But he's wrong for Batman.

My ideal scenario for the Batman reboot would be to begin with a middle-aged Batman who's already been established for a good ten to fifteen years; depicting events from the perspective of Dick Grayson and using his origin story as an entry point into an ongoing narrative that would culminate in him becoming Nightwing. Instead of retreading ground which Nolan has covered in his trilogy – focusing on a young Batman and his early solo exploits – this would be a progression into fresh territory which, aside from Schumacher's movies, has yet to be covered in a contemporary live action movie.

As far as casting the lead role in this project – well, I've said this in several threads already, but I'll say it again – Jim Caviezel should play Batman. He's the only actor I can think of who is a perfect physical match for the Bruce Wayne in the comics: 6 foot 2, 210lbs, black hair, blue eyes and a chiselled jaw line. He also has a background as a college athlete and trained in martial arts since childhood. He even sounds like Batman. Stick him in the Arkham Asylum costume and IMO you'd have the definitive live action Batman.

That being said, the new Batman film is obviously going to be aligned with the Man of Steel shared universe. And that means we're going to have to cover Batman's origins all over again. This is problematic for me, not just because Batman Begins only came out eight years ago, but also because Nolan's take on the origin story is so highly revered that audiences are unlikely to accept a different version. It might be better to skip the origin and just hint at it in a few flashbacks, like Burton did in Batman 89. Either way, they're going to need a young actor in his late twenties/early thirties to match up to Henry Cavill (who incidentally was an inspired choice to play Superman). And with that in mind, I have no idea who could play the part. There are no young actors at the moment who really leap out at me as suitable candidates for the role. So I'm going to have to agree with The Dark Knight on this one.

I like to see Batman as Batman, so I'd like an actor who doesn't bring baggage and is relatively unknown. A star waiting to happen. People will go, how can he be Batman? And then the movie will come out and people will say how were we so blind?

^ This. Let's find a fresh face that none of us have considered. And I'd really like them to pick someone who physically matches up to the role. None of the Batman actors to date have really measured up to the description of Bruce Wayne in the comics. It's about time we had a really tough actor take on the role. Someone who can convince the audience they can really handle themselves in a fight, but who can also convey the intelligence that is so vital to Batman's essence.

Truth be told, I'd much rather have a live action Batman and Robin TV show than another movie. But I also want to see Batman appear in the JLA film. Maybe we could have both: a middle-aged Batman teaming up with Robin on our TV screens, while a younger fresh faced Batman teams up with Superman on the big screen. They could even be set in the same universe, with the TV show taking place fifteen years after the events in the movie series.

Well, I can always dream...