Alan Ritchson says he has talked with James Gunn about playing Batman but doesn’t think it will happen.

“I strongly don’t think that Batman is in my future. I do think there is something in my future with DC”

The “Titans” alum doesn’t think playing the Dark Knight is in the cards for him, but maintains that “there is something in my future with DC.”

Alan Ritchson; Batman.Credit: 

Is Alan Ritchson going batty?

The short answer: probably not. The Reacher star recently discussed the persistent rumors that he’s being eyed to play Batman in James Gunn’s DCU in an interview with Variety — and said he’s talked about playing the Dark Knight with Gunn himself.

“It’s not rumor that James Gunn is a fan,” Ritchson said. “He said it himself. And am I a fan of James Gunn? Absolutely. I don’t want to mislead people. Words have been exchanged about Batman.”

Alan Ritchson at a ‘Reacher’ screening in 2023.David Livingston/Getty

However, Ritchson suspects that he won’t be Gunn’s first choice to play the next iteration of the Caped Crusader. “I strongly don’t think that Batman is in my future,” he opined.

The actor does think that he’ll eventually play a different comic book character in Gunn’s new interconnected superhero universe, though. “I do think there is something in my future with DC,” Ritchson said. “And I would like that to remain true.”

Ritchson, who previously played Hank Hall/Hawk on the DC series Titans and Arthur Curry/Aquaman in four episodes of Smallville, voiced his desire to portray Bruce Wayne and his crime-fighting alter ego in an interview with Wired in March. “I get asked every day if I’m playing Batman,” he said. “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 don the suit.”

In July, Josh Horowitz asked Gunn about the possibility of Ritchson playing the character on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. “I am a big Alan Ritchson fan, both as an actor and as a guy,” Gunn said. “Let’s just wait to see what happens.”

But in the same interview, Gunn clarified that wasn’t particularly close to casting a new Batman, as the DCU’s first Batman project is still fairly far away. “Sure, there’s people out there I think about, but let’s see where the script comes in,” he said. “It’s not the furthest-along thing. We have things that are much, much further along.”

Gunn first announced in 2023 that his retooled DC Studios would produce two cinematic Batmen simultaneously. One Batman is being played by Robert Pattinson, who portrayed the character in 2022’s The Batman, and will continue to exist in a standalone universe disconnected from other DC heroes. That standalone Bat-verse was expanded with 2024’s The Penguin spinoff series starring Colin Farrell, and will continue with the long-awaited The Batman Part II, which is currently slated to hit theaters in 2027.

Robert Pattinson in ‘The Batman’.Jonathan Olley/DC Comics

Gunn’s other Batman, who has yet to be cast, will serve as the Dark Knight for the DCU — the interconnected universe that so far consists of Superman, Peacemaker season 2, and the animated Creature Commandos series, and will continue next year with the movie Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and the Green Lantern HBO series Lanterns.

The DCU Batman will eventually headline the movie The Brave and the Bold, described as a father-son story about Batman and Robin. Andy Muschietti, who previously helmed The Flash, is on board to direct.