"Not a good fit for a realistic Batman"- Fans divided over Alan Ritchson's wish to play Batman in the DCU

Alan Ritchson's portrayal of the titular protagonist in the hit Prime Video series Reacher earned him worldwide recognition. Before his rise to stardom, he appeared in popular movies such as Fast X, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot, and its 2016 sequel.

Alan Ritchson made his professional acting debut almost two decades ago as Aquaman/Arthur Curry on The CW superhero TV series Smallville. He also appeared as Hank Hall/Hawk in the DC Universe TV series, Titans.

Now, years later, while addressing the long-running rumors that he is portraying Batman in James Gunn's rebooted DCU, Ritchson expressed his interest in playing the role. However, fans have different opinions regarding this as some believe that he is fit for the role and others don't.

For instance, one fan wrote:

"Not a good fit for a realistic Batman. Comic book accurate maybe, but based in the real world no."

Some other fans responded with similar sentiments.

"Terrible. Bruce is the difficult part, and this guy is lacking depth," - another user said.

"He’d be a terrible Batman," another user wrote.

On the other hand, some fans believe that he is a good fit for the role.

"After seeing this acting on Reacher, I am convinced that he would nail it as Bruce Wayne and the Batman," one user added.

"Dude is ready to suit up. He’s got the build for it," another user mused.

"Alan Ritchson as Batman would be insane — dude’s built for it," another user wrote.

"this is my dream DCU Batman casting," another user added.

From Jensen Ackles to Brendan Sklenar, fans have proposed many different actors for the portrayal of the Caped Crusader in the upcoming DC Universe movie The Brave and the Bold. However, so far, Gunn has turned down most such rumors and fan castings.

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What did Alan Ritchson say about the rumors of his casting as Batman?

Alan Ritchson at Amazon's debut of Inaugural Upfront Presentation (Image via Getty)

Alan Ritchson visited WIRED to answer the web's most searched questions. In the interview posted on March 6, 2025, he addressed the rumors of his casting as Batman. He said:

"What's amazing to me about this rumor of 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. [Said in his Batman voice] "Gotham is mine." Look at that. I don't even have to practice. It just comes out naturally."

Besides Alan Ritchson, many other actors have expressed their interest in the role. However, so far, Gunn has shown no interest in casting any of them.

Ben Affleck portrayed the Dark Knight in many movies in the DC Extended Universe. Robert Pattinson began starring as the character in 2022 when he appeared in Matt Reeves' The Batman, which is a part of the Elseworlds.