I know I know, we’re jumping the gun here. Reports have only just surfaced that Warner Bros. may be making plans for Ben Affleck to exit the DC Extended Universe as Batman after his turn in this fall’s Justice League. But with director Matt Reeves starting work on The Batman and the DCEU moving full speed ahead, we figured we’d offer up some choices and put it to a vote—if Affleck does exit, who should take up the cape and cowl?
It’s important to keep in mind that Warner Bros. could go a number of ways with this. It could be a Batman Forever scenario in which a new actor takes over the role, but it’s still supposed to be the same Bruce Wayne, in which case Affleck’s replacement would be an actor of similar age. Or Warner Bros. could be setting it up so that Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne literally passes on the cowl to a new character onscreen in the DCEU, which would mean we’d get a Batman who is not Bruce Wayne, and who is potentially younger.
So below we’ve put together a diverse list of possibilities, and we’re eager to hear from you. If Affleck vacates the role, who should get the job? Here’s our list, followed by the poll.
Idris Elba
Hugh Dancy
Matt Damon
Brad Pitt
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Garrett Hedlund
Jack O’Connell
Jon Hamm
Mahershala Ali
Jack Lowden
Glen Powell
Wyatt Russell
Joel Edgerton
Christopher Abbott
Joe Manganiello
Armie Hammer
Trevante Rhodes
Thomas Jane
Edgar Ramirez
Bradley Cooper
Karl Urban
Richard Armitage
Kyle Chandler
Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Clive Owen