Brave and the Bold Casting Thread

[Sawyer]

Hartnett is just about the right age IMO. I don’t want someone Pattinson’s age, much less younger.

 

[Monochron]

I'll be very surprised if they cast someone older than Affleck when he was cast.

 

[Invader Joker]

I'll be very surprised if they cast someone older than Affleck when he was cast.

I wouldn't because Ben Affleck was too young for the DKR Batman that Snyder wanted to do in the first place. I don't think enough gets talked about how miscast he was for that idea in particular. (I mean the whole idea of doing a DKR Batman in that movie was dumb but if he was gonna do it least he could've done is actually commit to it instead of hiring a dude that looked as "Batman in his physical prime" as anyone could look and just putting grey hairs on him and having him complain about how old he was every 2 seconds)

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

I wouldn't because Ben Affleck was too young for the DKR Batman that Snyder wanted to do in the first place. I don't think enough gets talked about how miscast he was for that idea in particular. (I mean the whole idea of doing a DKR Batman in that movie was dumb but if he was gonna do it least he could've done is actually commit to it instead of hiring a dude that looked as "Batman in his physical prime" as anyone could look and just putting grey hairs on him and having him complain about how old he was every 2 seconds)

Yeah, I literally laughed out loud every time Snyder described him as "old and crusty."

But anyway, Hartnett's not a bad choice at all if this guy is unavailable.

 

[Invader Joker]

Yeah, I literally laughed out loud every time Snyder described him as "old and crusty."

It was so, so stupid because truth be told BvS really did not need the DKR "I'm so old, Alfred" element at all. Him being paranoid over Superman and bitter after the death of Robin was enough. Adding DKR on top of that did nothing for the story except make everything much more stupid.

These two dudes looked the same age even, like... come on.

But anyway, Hartnett's not a bad choice at all if this guy is unavailable.

Yeah Hartnett strikes me as someone that makes a ton of sense. I'd say he's a very similar "type" to Lee currently. I do wonder if Hartnett would be interested tho as he's turned down superhero roles before because he doesn't like the fame, but maybe things have changed with age.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

It was so, so stupid because truth be told BvS really did not need the DKR "I'm so old, Alfred" element at all. Him being paranoid over Superman and bitter after the death of Robin was enough. Adding DKR on top of that did nothing for the story except make everything much more stupid.

These two dudes looked the same age even, like... come on.


Yeah Hartnett strikes me as someone that makes a ton of sense. I'd say he's a very similar "type" to Lee currently. I do wonder if Hartnett would be interested tho as he's turned down superhero roles before because he doesn't like the fame, but maybe things have changed with age.

Yeah, it was a kind of "cart before the horse" situation in the sense that Snyder let his long-standing ambition to adapt TDKR inform the events of BvS—a film that clearly had very little to do w/ the Miller comic. He did something similar with Martian Manhunter in the Snyder Cut of JL, a character who had no place being in that film at all. But Zack just had to shoehorn him in there even if it made no sense to the narrative, whatsoever.

I thought Hartnett recently expressed remorse over declining the part of Batman in Nolan's trilogy. Maybe he'd be game to do it now.

 

[Jack Reacher]

Hartnett is just about the right age IMO. I don’t want someone Pattinson’s age, much less younger.

Yup.

It would be too messy for general audiences to have a second 'Young Batman' in play while the Reeves-verse is going.

Having an older Batman is a nice contrast.


It will only be about 10 years before they reboot anyway. By then, 'Batman' (and Superman) will be a Public Domain character.

 

[Da-Scribe]

Batfleck's age comes up like twice in the movie and it's never him complaining about being old lol.

Anyway, Hartnett is still my top choice and it's nice to see him getting more love around here.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Not to defend BvS, but his age is entirely appropriate for the movie if you take the Frank Miller Batman continuity of Batman becoming Batman at 26. 15-20 is a long time to be Batman, more than enough for a dead Robin and all the other stuff too. DKR isn’t even that old, he’s like mid 50s, not 70.

 

[Invader Joker]

Not to defend BvS, but his age is entirely appropriate for the movie if you take the Frank Miller Batman continuity of Batman becoming Batman at 26. 15-20 is a long time to be Batman, more than enough for a dead Robin and all the other stuff too. DKR isn’t even that old, he’s like mid 50s, not 70.

Yeah but DKR Batman still looked like this. Visibly old and with wrinkles which I do think it's what in that comic made a lot of his words have the impact they had. It just doesn't really have the same effect when you have a guy that for all intents and purposes looks like any version of Batman in his prime that you'd find in a random main continuity comic (and also, doesn't even look that older from his Superman) even granting the fact that a 40 year old Batman would still be very experienced.

To me, if he really wanted to do DKR he should've cast older, or if he wanted to cast Ben Affleck he should've erased the DKR aspect and just portray him as being generally experienced like how modern comics have done for over 20 years. The weird middle ground he came up with just didn't do him any favors.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

Not to defend BvS, but his age is entirely appropriate for the movie if you take the Frank Miller Batman continuity of Batman becoming Batman at 26. 15-20 is a long time to be Batman, more than enough for a dead Robin and all the other stuff too. DKR isn’t even that old, he’s like mid 50s, not 70.

I think Invader was just pointing out that Ben was never all that old to begin with. He was essentially made to look older than he was (with the grey-templed wig and so forth) because Snyder wanted him to better resemble Miller's Batman in TDKR, which the BvS version of the character is loosely based upon. Maybe I confused things a bit, but I really do think that the concept of Superman duking it out with a "crusty, old Batman" — complete with a live-action replica of the TDKR armor — was the underlying impetus behind that whole film. And I say that as one of the few people on here who actually enjoyed substantial parts of it.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Well he’s not playing DKR Batman in BvS, he’s playing an older Batman who’s still active but jaded, which uses certain elements from DKR. He’s playing his actual age in the movie.

 

[Da-Scribe]

He was also visibly graying around the time of filming so he wasn’t really even aged up. And the wig was Affleck’s idea anyway.

That aside, I think that 45 age range is great for DCU Batman. It never really got paid in the DCEU so I’d really like to see an established Batman alongside all his rogues.

 

[Invader Joker]

Well he’s not playing DKR Batman in BvS, he’s playing an older Batman who’s still active but jaded, which uses certain elements from DKR. He’s playing his actual age in the movie.

Eh. I feel Snyder simply used one element too many. Way too much of the iconography of his Batman was Miller-based, down to even blatantly using several lines word for word from him in the movie. He intentionally associated his Batman with DKR in such an overt way I do think it was a weird decision from him.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

Well he’s not playing DKR Batman in BvS, he’s playing an older Batman who’s still active but jaded, which uses certain elements from DKR.

Come on, stop with the strawman. lol Literally no one here said that he was actually playing TDKR Batman in the movie, just that A) Ben (the actor) wasn't all that old when he was cast in the role, and B) Snyder unsuccessfully tried to make him look older than he actually was to better suit the part, which was inspired by the TDKR Batman, physically speaking.

He’s playing his actual age in the movie.

That's kind of the point. Ben didn't need any cosmetic changes to play a 40-something Batman in the movie, but Snyder gave him a wig and possibly even fake crow's feet because he wanted him to look more like the TDKR version of the character. The filmmakers could have left Ben as is, and it would've been fine.

 

[Da-Scribe]

One more time for the people in the back. Ben was already graying at the time of filming and it was his idea to wear a wig because he wanted to look like a specific panel he came across.

I get it not being a preference, but I think borrowing elements from TDKR as inspiration for a 20-year veteran Batman that’s jaded by his perceived lack of impact and heroic impotence in the wake of a superpowered alien is valid.

I’d still like to see veteran Batman again and I’m sure Gunn will make him a little less miserable haha. Which I’m fine with as Batfleck and Battinson (a miserable rookie) have scratched that itch for me.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

I get that Ben was already greying a little, but the wig was purposely styled and colored in a way that drew attention to the temples just the same. Even if it was Ben's idea to wear one based on a panel he read in TDKR, creative decisions have to go through the director. And I think it was ultimately a collaboration between Ben and Zack.

I don't know what else to tell you. There are a few different interviews where Snyder expressly discusses TDKR in relation to BvS and mentions how amazing it would be to see an "old and crusty" Batman actively fighting crime. Grey hair or not, "crusty" is the last word I'd ever use to describe Ben's Batman in BvS.

But we're already past the point. It isn't that important.

 

[Invader Joker]

Regardless the point here is that Affleck's age was never the actual problem in the DCEU. He could've easily played the part of a "in his prime" Batman if it had been written that way, and judging by how he looks nowadays if it wasn't for his personal issues and the general cluster**** that was the DCEU he could've easily played it for 10 years, hell, even 15 years as well, so there's really no need to worry about the whole "But Affleck was 40 when he got cast as an old Batman, how could they cast someone older?" because he wasn't even that old and if not for Snyder modelling him very overtly, albeit superficially on DKR I don't think most people would've thought him as old either.

There's this idea that it was Affleck's age that limited his tenure as Batman but it wasn't. It was all just personal life stuff that could've happened to any adult at any age.

 

[emielaen]

I think it's gonna be a dude who's over 40 and it's not gonna truly matter

 

[Invader Joker]

I think it's gonna be a dude who's over 40 and it's not gonna truly matter

RDJ did 7 of his MCU films past 45, Tom Cruise has done like 6 or 7 major action films since his mid 40s, Keanu Reeves did 4 John Wick films, Paul Rudd was cast as Ant-Man when he was 45 and still at it, Hugh Jackman is still playing Wolverine at 55 and probably gonna have at least 1 or 2 more appearances as the character, Pedro Pascal was just cast as Reed Richards at 48 and so on and so on.

The whole "we can't cast someone in their 40s in action/franchise films because of longevity" mentality has long been outdated and it's kinda wild how a lot of fans seem to still be clinging on to it when it there are more than enough examples to realize that it's not something even executives, or anyone in the industry really, care about or lose much sleep over.

 

[Jack Reacher]

Yeah. This is WB/DC. So there is no longevity. 10 years tops before they reboot. Likely less. I doubt Zaslav, Gunn and the current regime will even be around in a decade, given all the musical chairs at WB.

So they should cast whichever actor fits the role right now.

 

[Iceman]

It’s hard timing it with kid actors. Sometimes the good ones aren’t the right age at the time you want to film.

 

[Iceman]

RDJ did 7 of his MCU films past 45, Tom Cruise has done like 6 or 7 major action films since his mid 40s, Keanu Reeves did 4 John Wick films, Paul Rudd was cast as Ant-Man when he was 45 and still at it, Hugh Jackman is still playing Wolverine at 55 and probably gonna have at least 1 or 2 more appearances as the character, Pedro Pascal was just cast as Reed Richards at 48 and so on and so on.

The whole "we can't cast someone in their 40s in action/franchise films because of longevity" mentality has long been outdated and it's kinda wild how a lot of fans seem to still be clinging on to it when it there are more than enough examples to realize that it's not something even executives, or anyone in the industry really, care about or lose much sleep over.

Actors are in better shape later in life than they were in the past. 40/50 now isn’t what it was back then.

 

[Sawyer]

And honestly, narratively? There’s no better excuse to go for an “older” actor than having Batman discover he’s fathered a preteen.

I just don’t think that’s a story you tell with a younger Batman. Damian isn’t the result of a teenage/early twentysomething tryst. It was being Batman that drew Talia to Bruce in the first place.

And if it’s about the contrast in ages between Batman and Superman… meh. The MCU’s Tony Stark was sixteen years older than Captain America (and THIRTY-ONE years older than Spider-Man). We can deal with Batman having a decade or so on Superman.

 

[Invader Joker]

Updated list:

ACTOR	HEIGHTS	BIRTH YEAR	CURRENT AGE	AGE IF THEY START FILMING JULY 2025	AGE IF THEY START FILMING APRIL 2026
Jonah Hauer-King	6'1	30/05/1995​	28​	30	30
Gabriel Basso	5'11	11/12/1994​	29​	30	31
Nicholas Galitzine	5'11	29/11/1994​	29​	30	31
Zane Phillips	6'2	25/11/1993​	30​	31	32
Drew Starkey	6'1	04/11/1993​	30​	31	32
Leo Suter	6'0	26/09/1993​	30​	31	32
Calahan Skogman	6'4	13/05/1993​	30​	32	32
Oliver Dench	6'0	09/11/1992​	31​	32	33
Gus Halper	5'8	02/07/1992​	31​	32	33
Alexander Ludwig	6'2	07/05/1992​	31​	33	33
Jimmy Tatro	5'10	16/02/1992​	31​	33	34
Jack Reynor	5'11	23/01/1992​	31​	33	34
Colin Woodell	6'0	20/12/1991​	32​	33	34
Daniel Zovatto	6'0	28/06/1991​	32​	34	34
Jake Picking	5'11	02/03/1991​	32​	34	35
Chris Mason	6'0	14/02/1991​	32​	34	35
Tom Brittney	6'2	26/10/1990​	33​	34	35
Michele Morrone	6'2	03/10/1990​	33​	34	35
Bill Skarsgård	6'3	09/08/1990​	33​	34	35
Brandon Sklenar	6'2	26/06/1990​	33​	35	35
Aaron Taylor Johnson	5'10	13/06/1990​	33​	35	35
Jack Lowden	6'0	02/06/1990​	33​	35	35
Josh O'Connor	6'1	20/05/1990​	33​	35	35
Alex Pettyfer	5'10	10/04/1990​	33​	35	35
Corey Scott	6'1	30/03/1990​	33​	35	36
Callum Turner	6'1	15/02/1990​	33​	35	36
Daniel Donskoy	6'3	27/01/1990​	33​	35	36
Liam Hemsworth	6'3	13/01/1990​	34​	35	36
Cosmo Jarvis	5'10	01/09/1990​	33​	34	35
Steven John Ward	5'10	02/06/1990​	33​	35	35
Luke Bracey	5'10	26/04/1989​	34​	36	36
Tom Bateman	6'2	15/03/1989​	34​	36	37
Glen Powell	5'11	21/10/1988​	35​	36	37
Max Thieriot	5'9	14/10/1988​	35​	36	37
Jonathan Bailey	5'11	25/04/1988​	35​	37	37
Robbie Amell	5'11	21/04/1988​	35​	37	37
Ed Speelers	5'9	07/04/1988​	35​	37	37
Lucas Bravo	6'1	26/03/1988​	35​	37	38
Karl Glusman	6'2	03/01/1988​	36​	37	38
Matthew Daddario	6'3	01/10/1987​	36​	37	38
Ryan Guzman	6'0	21/09/1987​	36​	37	38
Bryan Dechart	6'0	17/03/1987​	36​	38	39
Miles Teller	6'0	20/02/1987​	36​	38	39
Sam Reid	5'10	19/02/1987​	36​	38	39
Zane Holtz	6'0	18/01/1987​	36​	38	39
Armand Aucamp	5'11	11/01/1987​	37​	38	39
Luke Cook	6'5	09/12/1986​	37​	38	39
Sam Palladio	6'2	21/11/1986​	37​	38	39
Oliver Jackson Cohen	6'4	24/10/1986​	37​	38	39
Chris Webster	6'1	06/10/1986​	37​	38	39
Stanley Weber	6'0	13/07/1986​	37​	38	39
Jake McDorman	6'0	08/07/1986​	37​	38	39
40s
Sam Claflin	5'11	27/06/1986​	37​	39	39
Richard Madden	5'9	18/06/1986​	37​	39	39
Josh Segarra	5'11	03/06/1986​	37​	39	39
Ethan Peck	6'0	02/03/1986​	37​	39	40
Josh Helman	6'1	22/02/1986​	37​	39	40
Christopher Abbott	5'11	01/02/1986​	37​	39	40
Stuart Martin	6'2	08/01/1986​	38​	39	40
Ben Aldridge	6'1	12/11/1985​	38​	39	40
Max Irons	6'2	17/10/1985​	38​	39	40
Henry Lloyd-Hughes	5'11	11/08/1985​	38​	39	40
Brant Daugherty	6'1	20/08/1985​	38​	39	40
Rafael Casal	6'0	08/08/1985​	38​	39	40
James Norton	6'1	18/07/1985​	38​	39	40
Tom Cullen	6'0	17/07/1985​	38​	39	40
François Arnaud	6'2	05/07/1985​	38​	39	40
Jonathan Groff	5'10	26/03/1985​	38​	40	41
James Wolk	6'1	22/03/1985​	38​	40	41
Tom Hopper	6'5	28/01/1985​	38​	40	41
Stephen Hagan	6'2	25/01/1985​	38​	40	41
Luke Grimes	5'11	21/01/1984​	39​	41	42
Theo James	6'0	16/12/1984​	39​	40	41
Garret Hedlund	6'1	03/09/1984​	39​	40	41
Corey Sevier	6'1	03/07/1984​	39​	40	41
Wilson Bethel	6'0	24/02/1984​	39​	41	42
David Berry	6'0	18/01/1984​	39​	41	42
Adam Driver	6'2	19/11/1983​	40​	41	42
Bradley James	5'11	11/10/1983​	40​	41	42
Kyle Soller	5'9	01/07/1983​	40​	42	42
Aidan Turner	5'11	19/06/1983​	40​	42	42
Louis Garrel	5'11	14/06/1983​	40​	42	42
Ed Skrein	6'1	29/03/1983​	40​	42	43
Jon-Michael Ecker	6'0	16/03/1983​	40​	42	43
Brett Dalton	6'2	07/01/1983​	41​	42	43
Alan Ritchson	6'2	28/11/1982​	41​	42	43
Tom Pelphrey	6'1	28/07/1982​	41​	42	43
Jamie Dornan	5'10	01/05/1982​	41​	43	43
Jack Huston	6'0	07/12/1982​	41​	42	43
Tom Mison	6'1	23/07/1982​	41​	42	43
Benjamin Walker	6'3	21/06/1982​	41​	43	43
Dan Stevens	6'0	10/10/1982​	41​	42	43
Liam McIntyre	6'2	08/02/1982​	41​	43	44
Rupert Friend	6'1	09/10/1981​	42​	43	44
Ben Barnes	6'1	20/08/1981​	42​	43	44
Clive Standen	6'1	22/07/1981​	42​	43	44
Michiel Huisman	6'0	18/07/1981​	42​	43	44
Jonathan Bennett	6'2	10/06/1981​	42​	44	44
Joseph Morgan	5'10	16/05/1981​	42​	44	44
Taylor Kitsch	5'10	08/04/1981​	42​	44	44
Tom Riley	5'10	05/04/1981​	42​	44	44
Matthias Schweighöfer	5'10	11/03/1981​	42​	44	45
Jake Gyllenhaal	5'11	19/12/1980​	43​	44	45
Ryan Gosling	6'0	12/11/1980​	43​	44	45
Sam Heughan	6'2	30/04/1980​	43​	45	45
David Giuntoli	5'10	18/06/1980​	43​	45	45
Charlie Hunnam	6'0	10/04/1980​	43​	45	45
Luke Macfarlane	6'2	19/01/1980​	43​	45	46
Joel Kinnaman	6'2	25/11/1979​	44​	45	46
John Krasinski	6'3	20/10/1979​	44​	45	46
Kevin Janssens	5'11	21/08/1979​	44​	45	46
Travis Fimmel	5'11	15/07/1979​	44​	45	46
Andrew W. Walker	5'11	09/07/1979​	44​	45	46
Luke Evans	6'0	15/04/1979​	44​	46	46
Lee Pace	6'4	25/03/1979​	44​	46	47
Ian Somerhalder	5'9	08/12/1978​	45​	46	47
Tom Ellis	6'3	17/11/1978​	45​	46	47
Wes Bentley	5'11	04/09/1978​	45​	46	47
Josh Hartnett	6'2	21/07/1978​	45​	46	47
Louis Cancelmi	5'11	09/06/1978​	45​	47	47
Dominic Cooper	5'9	02/06/1978​	45​	47	47
James Badge Dale	5'10	01/05/1978​	45​	47	47
Pablo Shcreiber	6'4	26/04/1978​	45​	47	47
Matthew Goode	6'2	03/04/1978​	45​	47	47
Nick Zano	5'11	08/03/1978​	45​	47	48
Jensen Ackles	6'0	01/03/1978​	45​	47	48
Matthias Schoenaerts	6'1	08/12/1977​	46​	47	48
Sam Witwer	6'1	20/10/1977​	46​	47	48
Matt Bomer	5'11	11/10/1977​	46​	47	48
Michael Fassbender	5'11	02/04/1977​	46​	48	48
Justin Hartley	6'2	29/01/1977​	46​	48	49
Juan Pablo Raba	6'0	14/01/1977​	47​	48	49
Ian Bohen	5'10	24/09/1976​	47​	48	49
Robert James-Collier	6'1	23/09/1976​	47​	48	49
Alexander Skarsgard	6'4	25/08/1976​	47​	48	49
Sam Worthington	5'9	02/08/1976​	47​	48	49
Ward Horton	6'1	14/01/1976​	48​	49	50