I know, Ben. I know.
Director Matt Reeves is looking to make a more detective style, noir caped crusader instead the pissed off hero we are all accustomed to now. He’s looking to make a NEW Batman. I’m interested to see what that will look like, so best of luck to him! After all, DC does stand for Detective Comics.
The rumor on the street is that Reeves is searching for a younger, hopefully slightly less tortured and higher pitched Batman. Specifically, an actor between the age of 25 – 30 who is a familiar face to viewers. Obviously, I know the world is just CLAMORING to hear who I want to be Batman (please, pick up on the sarcasm here) SO, here are my ideas for who should be the newest character in the DC empire.
SAM HEUGHAN
YES, I KNOW HE’S *TECHNICALLY* TOO OLD AT 38, BUT COME ON. HE CAN PLAY ANYTHING. HE COULD PLAY TINY TIM AND NAIL IT. HE DID THE WHOLE NOIR BIT ALREADY IN EMULSION. HIS JAW CAN CUT GLASS, AND EVERYONE KNOWS ALL SUPERHEROS NEED A BEAUTIFUL JAW. HE CAN ACT CIRCLES AROUND EVERYONE. I WOULD WATCH HIM READ A DICTIONARY. AND YES, I AM TOTALLY BIASED AND ALSO OBSESSED AND I’M OKAY WITH THAT.
Also, he’s already played Batman in Batman Live. So he’s totally used to the suit.
WHERE YOU CAN WATCH HIM: Outlander (duh), The Spy Who Dumped Me, Emulsion
BatSam is RET.
GARRETT HEDLUND
Again, not exactly in the 25-30 demo (he’s 34), but he would be an amazing Batman. Garrett can brood with the best of them. He’s completely gorgeous, tall, and has those “I’ve been hurt please love me” puppy dog eyes.
Garrett has been known to go method. Like, full method. When he got cast as an up and coming country star in Country Strong, he basically moved to Nashville, worked with a super famous country producer, and learned to sing and play guitar. He did the Bradley Cooper A Star Is Born method acting route a full nine years before Bradley did it. Can you imagine if someone went full method on Batman?!?? IT WOULD BE AWESOME.
You may be saying, “So why haven’t I heard of him, if he’s so great?”. Well, Garrett is a phenomenal actor who has been cast in a lot of big projects. I’m talking big, rake in money, studio-backed projects.
Sadly, most of those projects turned out to be complete and total disasters.
Garrett was the lead in Tron Legacy, a massive Disney sci-fi blockbuster sequel with Jeff Bridges! It crashed and burned. Garrett was one of the leads in Eragon, which was going to be the new Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings! It was a massive flop (fun fact, the lead was played by none other than Ed Speelers, Outlander’s Stephen Bonnet). Garrett was CAPTAIN HOOK, for God’s sake, in Pan, the 2015 Peter Pan remake! Another giant fail.
However, if you seek out his other movies (a few of my favorites listed below) you’ll see an actor who can really mine the depths of a character and make it believable. Garrett, we know you CAN do a franchise; but you deserve one that is actually well written, thought out, and most of all, successful.
WHERE YOU CAN WATCH HIM: Mudbound, Country Strong, Inside Llewyn Davis, On The Road, Unbroken
Look at that smolder. Can’t you just picture him with a cape?
DANIEL KALUUYA
We all know I have a deep affinity for Skins, which is where Daniel got his start (and also wrote two episodes of Skins! When he was still a teenager! I bow down), so, naturally, that is where I first saw Daniel. He had one of the smaller parts, as Posh Kenneth. I still remember watching and thinking, “hey, that guy is FUNNY. And really good looking. Even if he is wearing weirdly large and mismatched clothing”.
And then Daniel grew up. He’s had quite the 2018, getting a part in what you probably know him from, the groundbreaking and awesome Get Out. And the equally groundbreaking and awesome Black Panther. Which, if you haven’t seen these two movies, stop reading this article immediately and go see them. NOW.
But it wasn’t Daniel as Chris Washington or W’Kabi that made me think that he could be Batman. It was his episode of Black Mirror, “Fifteen Million Merits”. Daniel played a worker in a futuristic society where people are constantly consumed by screens and earn their living through the menial task of biking to create energy. Daniel was the coolest, most calculated dude in this episode. He didn’t buy into the society he lived in, keeping on the outside and taking risks only for love. When things didn’t go his way – he had a plan and he enacted it with fervor and emotion and it was badass and awesome. He turned the system he lived in on its head (and I’m not going to say more because you should watch the episode). If there is going to be a detective, sleuth-y, purposeful, and intelligent Batman, Daniel will nail it.
Oh, did I mention he’s only 29? Also, since he already exists in the Marvel universe…we certainly know he can handle the rigors of a comic book movie.
WHERE YOU CAN WATCH HIM: Black Mirror, Get Out, Black Panther, Skins, Kick Ass 2
I mean…the man can rock a tux.
JACK O’CONNELL
The word that immediately comes to mind when I think of Jack O’Connell is intense. Whatever part you see him in, he acts it with complete and total commitment. Like, scary commitment. Like, “Leonardo Dicaprio slicing open his hand in the middle of a scene and just keeping going” commitment. Jack plays everything you throw at him with profound sincerity.
Jack is nothing if not completely believable in his roles. He doesn’t quite go method – he goes DARK. His second ever role ever on TV was playing a teenage rapist. Jack was only fourteen years, old, playing a part most adults wouldn’t or couldn’t touch. He was arguably one of the most fascinating characters on Skins (not the same season as Daniel Kaluuya) as Cook, the boy that you loved because he was so hurt and broken but also wanted to kill because he kept self-sabotaging. Jack was in the 300 sequel – not exactly a film franchise known for being “chill”.
However, if you want to see his true acting prowess, go see him as Louis Zamperini in Unbroken. The movie itself could have been better – but Jack’s performance is amazing. He plays an Olympic runner who survives 47 days in the ocean after a plane crash in World War II. He’s rescued, only to go to a Japanese POW camp and be tortured. You know, just your average dude, really. In all seriousness – if you want to see a masterful performance, go see Jack in this.
If Matt Reeves wants a younger Bruce Wayne dealing who is dealing with his parents being murdered in the not so distant past…Jack O’Connell would be perfect. He can play pain, suffering, internal turmoil, and external turmoil, better than any young (he’s 28) actor in Hollywood.
WHERE YOU CAN WATCH HIM: Skins, 300: Rise of an Empire, Unbroken, Godless, Money Monster
Yeah, I went with a shirtless photo. SUE ME.
