Batman/Bruce Wayne Casting Thread - Part 4

[Invader Joker]

Also, Richard Armitage did audition for Batman.

 

[Jekecy]

Brolin really did get into talks with Zack about it, though. He's mentioned that before. They probably moved onto Affleck after this group.

Affleck was courted before. Specifically, to direct Justice League back when it was written by the Gangster Squad scribes. I distinctly remember the report mentioning it was a package deal, and would include Affleck donning the cape/cowl. There was so much noise around that time though it kinda fell by the wayside. But Ben did confirm (on video) he was approached and had talks, but ultimately declined because he wasn't the type of director to helm a big superhero movie.

 

[FunkMiller]

I mean, while I'm sure they get things wrong every once and a while, Borys Kit and THR (as well as Variety) are about as reliable as they get. I'm sure that list of names was likely pretty accurate at the time. Especially with Brolin himself eventually confirming he was on it. It's these random yahoos on Twitter pretending they're "in the know" (aka, most of the guys we're listening to now, lol) you've gotta look out for.

Yes. Trying to sift out the ones who are actually in the know, from the citizen journalists who are just after clicks, and think they’re connected because their apartment is two streets down from a movie lot, can be quite difficult. I tend to wait on people like Kit and Kroll before believing anything.

The worst Twitter yahoo right now is Daniel Richtman, Who does these rather pathetic ‘I have a big scoop’ teaser tweets that never amount to a damn thing.

 

[Sawyer]

Great example of how bang on and accurate a lot of the Hollywood reporting tends to be... Affleck not mentioned once.

My favorite part?

Headline: WB SEEKING 40-ISH BATMAN

Second name on the list: A then 33-year-old

 

[Marvel united]

Starting Batman off as Frank Miller's tired and grizzled hero who's at the end of his rope, never made sense to me. Not when you trying to start a cinematic universe that is going to span at least 10 years

 

[FeedOnATreeFrog]

This probably won't happen, but what if they cast two actors, one for the young Year One Bats to lead the solo franchise, and an unannounced Batfleck recast (Joel Edgerton is my pick), used as the framing device at the start and the end of the film (like in Wonder Woman), where Bruce walks around the dilapidated mansion deciding whether or not he wants to rebuild it and train the young Tim Drake, who's the same age he was when he began his own crusade.

 

[Sawyer]

Starting Batman off as Frank Miller's tired and grizzled hero who's at the end of his rope, never made sense to me. Not when you trying to start a cinematic universe that is going to span at least 10 years

There are other bigger issues with the approach they took. I don't mind an already established Batman in this scenario, because out of all the JL, he and his world required the least amount of establishing.

Did it need to be quite so TDKR-esque? Ehh... probably not. But I don't mind him having been at it for awhile.

 

[flickchick85]

This probably won't happen, but what if they cast two actors, one for the young Year One Bats to lead the solo franchise, and an unannounced Batfleck recast (Joel Edgerton is my pick), used as the framing device at the start and the end of the film (like in Wonder Woman), where Bruce walks around the dilapidated mansion deciding whether or not he wants to rebuild it and train the young Tim Drake, who's the same age he was when he began his own crusade.

I personally don't think they need to stick with an older Bats at all, but I'd be down for that scenario.

 

[Aximili86]

Have you actually seen Pattinson in anything other than Twilight? Be honest!

The Rover, Cosmopolis, Water For Elephants, The Lost City Of Z, that one with Pierce Brosnan & Lena Olin that's name's escaping me...

And I've never seen a Twilight flick, just the commercials.

Again, using Twilight as a barometer is all kinds of stupid, for those that are dismissing him on that. Young up-and-coming prettyboy actor takes job for millions of dollars where he gets to make out with Kristen Stewart and become some big teen idol. Duh, any 20-something wanting to be an actor is going to take that gig. No problemo.

He's, what, early 30s now, with like a dozen more movies under his belt, different types of movies (that he's actually pretty decent in, no argument there), awesome. Like I said, the Harry Potter kid's not a kid anymore, of course he should be able to go for different roles. And he's been in serious, even gritty stuff. Thing is, I just don't really find Pattinson any "scarier" a presence than Radcliffe. Bigger, sure. Broodier, totally. He still just has that catwalk-model vibe about him somehow, it's not even really anything to do with the roles he plays. Even in his darker stuff like The Rover he just seems sort of over his head - not acting-wise, just...there's something.

Personally, I'm even a little open to the idea of Pattinson. If it works, it works. He could surprise us. All I'm saying is that coming from someone who "got" the mindset between casting someone like Ledger as Joker a dozen years ago, and where they were probably coming from with going for someone like Momoa for Aquaman, I just...for now...don't "get" Pattinson. He kinda has the look, sure - there are people who have the look down more. He's young - but still about 5 years older than we've heard Reeves is looking at. He's a pretty good actor - he's also not all that extraordinary an actor. He's broody - there are broodier. He's not a small guy - he's also not all that particularly big a guy.

Just sort of seems like he's middling on every element, there's nothing that really stands out. If we're going to compare to the three favored film Batmans, Bale had that grim intensity that wasn't really matched by any of his peers, Affleck's a big imposing dude with the comics-jaw and a reputation as both a bit of a playboy and a grouchy & driven dude. Keaton didn't have any of the stuff down on-paper but had crazy charisma and that weird x-factor about him, this out-there unstable vibe that suited exactly what Burton was going for.

None of that's writing off Pattison, he might even have something we haven't seen yet, that thing that makes him right for it. I just don't feel we've seen that yet. Any box the guy ticks, there are like 5 actors out there that hit that note better.

 

[Marvel united]

There are other bigger issues with the approach they took. I don't mind an already established Batman in this scenario, because out of all the JL, he and his world required the least amount of establishing.

Did it need to be quite so TDKR-esque? Ehh... probably not. But I don't mind him having been at it for awhile.

I agree in that it's easy to introduce an established Batman since his world is mostly contained to one city but I just think it's odd to have a Batman whose essentially at the end of his journey to start a cinematic universe. I much prefer Bats and Supes to be peers myself but either way, the idea COULD have worked. The idea of contrasting a young Superman to a grizzled Batman who is at a point in his life where he has given up hope -- could have been really beautiful if it was executed better. The most obvious flaw with the way they decided to communicate this idea to the audience was by making Batman and Superman the exact same. The contrast does not work properly because both of them have the same crisis in their arc... But that's another discussion for another time and sub-forum.

I wonder if Reeves' Batman will show up in the DCFU proper or stay secluded in the world Reeves is building for Batman in the solo trilogy

 

[Invader Joker]

None of that's writing off Pattison, he might even have something we haven't seen yet, that thing that makes him right for it. I just don't feel we've seen that yet. Any box the guy ticks, there are like 5 actors out there that hit that note better.

And who would those 5 actors be?

 

[TheIronist]

I'd rather stick rusty forks in my eyes than watch Centineo or Pattinson as Batman.

 

[Sawyer]

I'd rather stick rusty forks in my eyes than watch Centineo or Pattinson as Batman.

Hype posts are legally binding. You're now obligated to record and upload video of the fork stuff if Pattinson is cast.

 

[Invader Joker]

I have a feeling Pattinson will get cast.
Just a feeling.

 

[Black Narcissus]

I've always felt like it was Brolin who ended up passing on Batman. He wouldn't go into details as to why on the nerdist podcast but alluded to something more, but then I remember Diane Lane and their issues at that time. Brolin always seemed more of a Snyder kinda choice and Ben more WB.

 

[Aximili86]

And who would those 5 actors be?

Well, pick a trait. It's gonna depend and all be different. You're not going to be able to tick off each and every box perfectly with any actor, of course, but you're going to be able to nail stuff down better than average-with-all-of-them.

And yeah, as for Brolin I vaguely remember reports making it seem like he'd turned them down too. Doesn't mean he wasn't talking with the a while over it though, he probably did meet with Snyder and the suits. He might have been Snyder's personal first choice.

 

[flickchick85]

I've always felt like it was Brolin who ended up passing on Batman. He wouldn't go into details as to why on the nerdist podcast but alluded to something more, but then I remember Diane Lane and their issues at that time. Brolin always seemed more of a Snyder kinda choice and Ben more WB.

Agreed.

 

[FunkMiller]

Just sort of seems like he's middling on every element, there's nothing that really stands out. If we're going to compare to the three favored film Batmans, Bale had that grim intensity that wasn't really matched by any of his peers, Affleck's a big imposing dude with the comics-jaw and a reputation as both a bit of a playboy and a grouchy & driven dude. Keaton didn't have any of the stuff down on-paper but had crazy charisma and that weird x-factor about him, this out-there unstable vibe that suited exactly what Burton was going for.

None of that's writing off Pattison, he might even have something we haven't seen yet, that thing that makes him right for it. I just don't feel we've seen that yet. Any box the guy ticks, there are like 5 actors out there that hit that note better.

It’s funny. I’ve never once felt that Affleck is an imposing type. Not even really in BvS. He’s always struck me as the preppy, lantern jawed boyfriend type. That’s why I was surprised he was cast, to be honest. I guess he never grew out of the characters he played in Kevin Smith films for me!

And having watched Good Time, I can see Pattinson being far more frightening. Ah well, everyone feels different

 

[FunkMiller]

I've always felt like it was Brolin who ended up passing on Batman. He wouldn't go into details as to why on the nerdist podcast but alluded to something more, but then I remember Diane Lane and their issues at that time. Brolin always seemed more of a Snyder kinda choice and Ben more WB.

I forgot about all of that. You’re very probably right. Brolin might look at how things turned out and breathe something of a sigh of relief!

 

[flickchick85]

I forgot about all of that. You’re very probably right. Brolin might look at how things turned out and breathe something of a sigh of relief!

Last year, he said he was glad he didn't get it, because he "wasn't the right guy." Yeah, I'm sure that's why, Josh.

 

[Aximili86]

It’s funny. I’ve never once felt that Affleck is an imposing type. Not even really in BvS. He’s always struck me as the preppy, lantern jawed boyfriend type. That’s why I was surprised he was cast, to be honest. I guess he never grew out of the characters he played in Kevin Smith films for me!

And having watched Good Time, I can see Pattinson being far more frightening. Ah well, everyone feels different

Well, yeah, I was never on the Affleck train either, even before the movies came out, there's something pretty genuinely unlikeable about the guy. That being said, I totally get why he'd be a contender for the role. "Imposing" I meant physically, he's a bigger frame than Bale & Kilmer & Clooney, obviously Keaton, even before getting in movie shape. He has that big cliche comic-book-hero jaw, same type of hair, blah blah. And then just like, previous roles, Affleck's usually (later career anyway) that kind of serious & driven, slightly-d*ckish personality, standoffish and brooding or whatever.

You can see when they announce Affleck, much as I was pretty blahhh on the guy, how they're going to get a scary presence out of the dude. He's upper-echelon-of-human-beings in size, he's older, has that whole p*ssed-off-and-focused vibe to him.

And hey, again, Pattison just might have it in him too. Just, unlike someone like Gyllenhaal we were talking about a while back (who's obviously a smaller guy than Affleck too), I don't really see it in Pattinson as of now, today. These other guys you can picture as having maybe been in an actual fight or two in their lives. Bale, even Keaton has a sort of "regular Joe who's probably seen some stuff" feel to him. Pattinson, I just...yeah. Don't get any of that, personally.

 

[Mandon Knight]

JG can't do it I'm guessing as he's tied down to MCU now, it just feels like it's Hammer to me. Something in the waters.

 

[Aximili86]

Oh, yeah, Gyllenhaal's a non-starter, I was just using him as a comparison with Pattinson. Jake's got the movie-star-looks thing going on, and he's not really any bigger than Pattinson is, but I can fathom the notion that the guy can probably throw & take a punch. Clearly Bale had that, Affleck, even the Burton/Schumacher guys. Hell, even Clooney as a guy, even considering what his movie was. Robert...just...notsomuch.

 

[jolldan]

I'd rather stick rusty forks in my eyes than watch Centineo or Pattinson as Batman.

 

[BaelaTargaryen]

LMAO