Everyone has a take on who the new Batman should be in James Gunn’s DCU, but one name that keeps surfacing more and more is Brandon Sklenar.
Best known for 1923, The Offer, and It Ends With Us, Sklenar might not be a household name yet, but among DC diehards, he’s become one of the top fancast choices for the next Bruce Wayne in the DCU’s upcoming The Brave and the Bold.
The actor is fully aware of the buzz and he said:
“I mean, for Batman? Let’s keep running with that! That’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was a little kid — and I’ve never even talked about it — It just started happening and I was like, ‘This is cool!’ And now, maybe, hopefully, it happens one day.”
Sklenar didn’t start this conversation, the fans did. And now he’s all in. But what really made things interesting was a moment in a recent interview where he said that DC was aware of him.
When asked if anyone at DC had actually called him, Sklenar answered:
“Yeah. I think there’s some awareness of me on some level, probably. But yeah, I know they’re a ways away from doing that. But yeah, obviously, the little kid in me, and the adult me is, like, ‘This is cool!’ And I have a bunch of ideas. Anyway, it’d be cool.”
That’s a cautious response, but one that hints that maybe there’s at least conversations about possibly casting him. Whether it’s Gunn or someone else at DC Studios, or, at the very least, some awareness has been acknowledged behind the scenes.
Of course, we’re still a long way from seeing a new Batman in the DCU. With Matt Reeves‘ The Batman: Part II not dropping until 2026, DC’s The Brave and the Bold, which will introduce Bruce Wayne’s son, Damian, as Robin, isn’t expected until 2028 at the earliest. A lot can happen between now and then.
And Sklenar isn’t the only one in the running—at least in the court of public opinion. Alan Ritchson is another name that’s been loudly floated around. He’s been very vocal about his Batman ambitions:
“What’s amazing to me about this rumor of the Batman or the Batman desire and the zeitgeist is the fact that James Gunn has personally announced publicly on his Twitter or X or whatever, ‘LOL, he’s not playing Batman.
“He is not playing Batman!’ And this thing will not die. I get asked every day if I’m playing Batman. Yeah, would I play Batman? Yes. Would I pay handsomely to be Batman?
“You wouldn’t even have to pay me to be Batman. I would, yeah, I would don the suit. ‘Gotham is mine.’ Look at that. I don’t even have to practice. It just comes out naturally.”
Ritchson’s clearly game and having fun with it, but Sklenar’s approach is more reserved. Whether Sklenar ends up donning the cowl or not, it’s clear that fans have spoken, and DC might just be listening.
So what do you think? Should Brandon Sklenar be the next Batman?
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