Brave and the Bold Casting Thread

[ArmsHeldOut]

Nolan said he would be his new choice for Batman

Pretty sure Nolan has no idea who Ian Bohen is.

 

[Eddie Dean]

We’re talking about Wes Bentley

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

We’re talking about Wes Bentley

Look again at the post Invader quoted.

 

[Invader Joker]

In addition to Yellowstone, this guy had a brief stint on Superman and Lois. He's a CW-level actor, IMO (and not in a good way like Tyler Hoechlin or Bitsie Tulloch).

Yeah at this stage of his career I don't see him overnight becoming the lead of a giant blockbuster with one of the most known characters in pop culture. Wes Bentley is more likely of the Yellowstone cast and even him it's iffy if you look at his competition.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Look again at the post Invader quoted.

Oops my bad

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

Yeah at this stage of his career I don't see him overnight becoming the lead of a giant blockbuster with one of the most known characters in pop culture. Wes Bentley is more likely of the Yellowstone cast and even him it's iffy if you look at his competition.

I can't understate how much of a walking doormat Bentley is on that show. Fans have been waiting for him to grow a pair since Season 1, and it just never happened.

 

[ArmsHeldOut]

He does look Bruce Wayne AF, though. (I'll give him that.)

 

[flickchick85]

People have been fancasting Wes Bentley for like 20 years now and I’ve never understood it. He has a decent look but he has never remotely had Batman vibes to me.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

So Lee Pace or Ethan Peck.

Probably more Ethan Peck for age reasons. Someone ultra safe, not too expensive, easy to lock down for 800 movies. That is what the casting for Legacy tells me if it can be applied at all to the rest of the DCU.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

People have been fancasting Wes Bentley for like 20 years now and I’ve never understood it. He has a decent look but he has never remotely had Batman vibes to me.

Yeah, I like Wes Bentley a lot but he feels very wrong. And looks wrong. I do not care at all about actors looking like the comic book characters because I think those designs are mostly boring and generic but there's still a vibe. Bentley does not have that vibe.

 

[Boom]

 

[Invader Joker]

Probably more Ethan Peck for age reasons. Someone ultra safe, not too expensive, easy to lock down for 800 movies. That is what the casting for Legacy tells me if it can be applied at all to the rest of the DCU.

Really hoping that Gunn follows the logic he did when casting Mr. Terrific, Guy Gardner and even Drax back in the day and doesn't care about age that much. Still can't think of a good reason Batman couldn't be mid 40s in this.

 

[Boom]

It makes more sense for Bruce to be in his forties anyway, considering Damian's age.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

It makes more sense for Bruce to be in his forties anyway, considering Damian's age.

Oh, he should be for sure.

 

[BobJM]

A moderately well known, generically handsome dark haired white dude from a popular TV show is about my expectation for the lead in this.

Richard Madden, 37

I see @Invader Joker mistakenly left him off the list

Yeah yeah he’s 5’10 but I see Madden as a very real name they’d have on a shortlist. And the height really isn’t a huge deal, IMO. He’s been in well-known/acclaimed series, done some movie work (Eternals is probably his biggest and all signs point to that being a one-and-done), and is easy on the eyes. Wouldn’t fancast him as the next 007, but I think he could bring a more “fun” Caped Crusader Batman to the screen, as opposed to Dark Knight detective Pattinson and Reeves are bringing.

I’m not saying Batman shouldn’t be a broody character but he’s still gotta work within a broader DC universe, and hopefully Brave and the Bold will include the fantastical element that is (and seems, will be) missing from the Reeves universe. Plus cool gadgets and vehicles. Think live action Kevin Conroy/DCAU.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I genuinely think Gunn has a huge hang up about height so anyone who isn’t massive is a write off but otherwise Madden is the exact mold I expect.

 

[BobJM]

I genuinely think Gunn has a huge hang up about height so anyone who isn’t massive is a write off but otherwise Madden is the exact mold I expect.

Yeah, but 5’10 isn’t tiny. And Batman doesn’t need to be taller than Superman. Give him a chunky wedge on the Bat-boot and she’s a 6ft queen.

I know the tweets you’re referring to, but we’re not talking Tom Cruise height here or needing to rely on Hobbit-type camera trickery to make sure a 5’10 actor doesn’t read on screen as a little guy.

 

[Invader Joker]

Richard Madden, 37

I see @Invader Joker mistakenly left him off the list

Yeah yeah he’s 5’10 but I see Madden as a very real name they’d have on a shortlist. And the height really isn’t a huge deal, IMO. He’s been in well-known/acclaimed series, done some movie work (Eternals is probably his biggest and all signs point to that being a one-and-done), and is easy on the eyes. Wouldn’t fancast him as the next 007, but I think he could bring a more “fun” Caped Crusader Batman to the screen, as opposed to Dark Knight detective Pattinson and Reeves are bringing.

I’m not saying Batman shouldn’t be a broody character but he’s still gotta work within a broader DC universe, and hopefully Brave and the Bold will include the fantastical element that is (and seems, will be) missing from the Reeves universe. Plus cool gadgets and vehicles. Think live action Kevin Conroy/DCAU.

I didn't leave him out

The biggest problem with Madden though is that, aside from his height probably being a huge turn-off for Gunn (he's not actually 5'10 by the way, he's more like 5'9) it cannot be overstated how much his american accent sucks. It's extremely, extremely bad. And yeah I know dialect coaches exist and all that but even in his most recent show he supposedly must've had one and it still was absolutely terrible. That alone probably disqualifies him (not to mention I also think his screen presence is quite boring but that's more subjective)

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Yeah, but 5’10 isn’t tiny. And Batman doesn’t need to be taller than Superman. Give him a chunky wedge on the Bat-boot and she’s a 6ft queen.

I know the tweets you’re referring to, but we’re not talking Tom Cruise height here or needing to rely on Hobbit-type camera trickery to make sure a 5’10 actor doesn’t read on screen as a little guy.

It is absolutely nuts that 5,10 or even 5,9 is ‘short’ in movie standards. Worlds easiest thing to fake.

 

[Invader Joker]

In regards to the height thing, one of the things I'd imagine Gunn will want based on how he said that to him it's a matter of visual storytelling and stuff like that, is the visual of a really tall Batman towering over the rest of the Bat-Family.

And for obvious reasons it'd be, well, significantly easier to get that sort of visual with a really tall actor as Batman opposed to casting one who's 5'9-5'10 and having to restrict the Nightwing, Red Hood, Tim Drake, etc search to actors shorter than that.

 

[Eddie Dean]

apple crates really aren’t that hard to come by

 

[Invader Joker]

apple crates really aren’t that hard to come by

Gunn doesn't really seem to like them (plus ruling Richard Madden out isn't a big loss)

 

[SwordOfMorning]

For sure Gunn doesn’t like them but the perpetual use of them unnoticeably in almost every major movie is what makes his thing about it such a weird hang up.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Gunn doesn't really seem to like them (plus ruling Richard Madden out isn't a big loss)

He hates apple crates???

 

[Invader Joker]

For sure Gunn doesn’t like them but the perpetual use of them unnoticeably in almost every major movie is what makes his thing about it such a weird hang up.

I really don't think they're nearly as effective as you're making them out to be, or at least I can always tell when an actor is actually tall vs. when they're faking it and I do think it makes a big difference especially in how character interactions are framed. It's perfectly understandable to me why a director or a producer would much rather just cast tall instead of having to do all sorts of tricks that heavily affect the blocking and the framing of scenes and sets to "sell it". (In this case, especially so as the character will go through different sets of directors and contexts over time)

And anyway in this specific case I really don't think it's that important because it's not like we're swimming in great, undeniable choices under 5'11 for Batman. If there was a 5'9 equivalent to Daniel Day Lewis looking like Bruce straight out the comic pages maybe I'd get it but there is no such person.