Brave and the Bold Casting Thread

[Da-Scribe]

On Hartnett, I would not be mad at all if he landed Batman. But I would be infinitely more interested in him as Two-Face under Reeves direction. That seems more like what he’d be interested in anyway.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Hartnett is an adequate and realistic option. A bit like Affleck but less interesting.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

I think you are strictly on the minority on this. And we had this conversation before.

I know we argue constantly but I find it deeply hilarious that there is one thing that brings us together: a deep, abiding man crush on Lee Grinner Pace.

 

[Invader Joker]

I know we argue constantly but I find it deeply hilarious that there is one thing that brings us together: a deep, abiding man crush on Lee Grinner Pace.

At the end of the day we're all well aware he is the superior fancast. Hell if it wasn't for the "we don't know what the age range will be" thing I don't think there'd be any disagreement he'd probably be the one to get the gig. He just goes really in line with how Gunn likes to cast (and how he's been casting the DCU) and he'd probably be really happy to play the role for as long as the DCU would demand it, which we can't say for every actor.

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

Jake Gyllenhaal is the superior option and the best pick overall. I hope he turned down Reed to keep his schedule open for Batman.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Jake Gyllenhaal is the superior option and the best pick overall. I hope he turned down Reed to keep his schedule open for Batman.

Jake is my dream Batman but guys like him and Gosling are total pipe dreams. Can you honestly imagine a likely scenario where someone like Gyllenhaal signs a contract for probably like six movies? With the possibility of more? This will be a massive, career consuming role like it was for the MCU cast. It’s a horribly unattractive prospect unless your career really needs it, it ain’t the same as Pattinson doing a trilogy at all.

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

I just searched Lee Pace Batman on Twitter and the only people talking about it appear to be a user (who I suspect is a member of the Hype) that has obsessively dedicated their whole account to pestering James Gunn with the “Lee Pace as Batman” idea, along with one or two other users who much more casually support the idea. Not a massive following from what I’ve seen, he doesn’t appear to be that popular of a fancast besides that Twitter guy and with the folks here. I really hate this idea and hope Gunn does too, his face would look so odd in the cowl. I’ve never been that impressed by his acting, he’s just there and doesn’t make a strong impression. His Thandruil and his Ronan were virtually interchangeable performances aside from the wardrobe/makeup. Lazy!

I’ve listed a number of superior options in terms of appearance and talent that I hope Gunn will ultimately choose from.

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

Ackles is a really popular Batman fancast, and even though I love Ackles’ Batman voice, I think he’d be better as Hal Jordan. It’s the perfect role for him. The dude is really underrated and the CW association really tainted his reputation unfortunately. I’ve enjoyed him quite a bit on The Boys. I’d love to see his costar Jack Quaid as Barry Allen too. I’d be surprised if they cast Ackles as Batman, he’s far from my top choice but he’d be 1000x better than a lot of names I’ve seen bandied about like Lee Pace, Tom Bateman, Jonathan Groff, and Ethan Peck. I wouldn’t mind seeing those guys in different roles but they’re just so not what I want for Batman.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

As a rule of thumb fans have absolutely horrible instincts for basically everything and should generally be completely ignored (myself included!) so I’m not terribly compelled by the fact Pace isn’t a ragingly popular fan cast.

But we’ve danced this dance before.

 

[Invader Joker]

Jake is my dream Batman but guys like him and Gosling are total pipe dreams. Can you honestly imagine a likely scenario where someone like Gyllenhaal signs a contract for probably like six movies? With the possibility of more? This will be a massive, career consuming role like it was for the MCU cast. It’s a horribly unattractive prospect unless your career really needs it, it ain’t the same as Pattinson doing a trilogy at all.

Not to mention that even if Gyllenhaal would be up to it, it'd probably be for a pretty massive paycheck. Probably RDJ in Phase 2 level money or something like that, and he'd only get more and more expensive with every movie and every project. Hell, by the time they get to a JL movie it'd probably be about 30-50 million dollars they'd be paying him per project. And in a time where the box offices for these movies are getting increasingly volatile and where it'd be wiser for everyone to be more fiscally responsible, would it /really/ be a good idea from DC Studios PoV? And would Gunn /really/ care that much about getting star-power to the point he'd break the bank like that when throughout his career he's never cared about getting it and in Superman (which arguably is the one property that may need more star power right now) he hasn't shown to care about it at all?

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Ackles is a really popular Batman fancast, and even though I love Ackles’ Batman voice, I think he’d be better as Hal Jordan. It’s the perfect role for him. The dude is really underrated and the CW association really tainted his reputation unfortunately. I’ve enjoyed him quite a bit on The Boys. I’d love to see his costar Jack Quaid as Barry Allen too. I’d be surprised if they cast Ackles as Batman, he’s far from my top choice but he’d be 1000x better than a lot of names I’ve seen bandied about like Lee Pace, Tom Bateman, Jonathan Groff, and Ethan Peck. I wouldn’t mind seeing those guys in different roles but they’re just so not what I want for Batman.

I like Ackles better than some of those overall as an actor but he’s absurdly wrong for Batman. He’s way too much of a classic Tough Guy, which works super well for a number of roles and isn’t even really an insult it’s just a million miles away from the screen presence I want out of Batman.

 

[Invader Joker]

I like Ackles better than some of those overall as an actor but he’s absurdly wrong for Batman. He’s way too much of a classic Tough Guy, which works super well for a number of roles and isn’t even really an insult it’s just a million miles away from the screen presence I want out of Batman.

He also has way too much of a blue collar vibe to him that makes picturing him as Bruce Wayne awkward; which is reflected in his performance on the TLH animated movies too. His Bruce came across as extremely forced and I think it'd only be worse in live action.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

He also has way too much of a blue collar vibe to him that makes picturing him as Bruce Wayne awkward; which is reflected in his performance on the TLH animated movies too. His Bruce came across as extremely forced and I think it'd only be worse in live action.

Totally, fonder of his voice than you are but just everything about his energy for the role is wrong.

When casting Batman I look less for traditional action hero types and frankly more for the kind of actor I’d cast as Dracula or Heathcliff. You want a sexy, dark, intense aristocrat.

 

[Invader Joker]

I just searched Lee Pace Batman on Twitter and the only people talking about it appear to be a user (who I suspect is a member of the Hype) that has obsessively dedicated their whole account to pestering James Gunn with the “Lee Pace as Batman” idea, along with one or two other users who much more casually support the idea. Not a massive following from what I’ve seen, he doesn’t appear to be that popular of a fancast besides that Twitter guy and with the folks here. I really hate this idea and hope Gunn does too, his face would look so odd in the cowl. I’ve never been that impressed by his acting, he’s just there and doesn’t make a strong impression. His Thandruil and his Ronan were virtually interchangeable performances aside from the wardrobe/makeup. Lazy!

I’ve listed a number of superior options in terms of appearance and talent that I hope Gunn will ultimately choose from.

As a rule of thumb fans have absolutely horrible instincts for basically everything and should generally be completely ignored (myself included!) so I’m not terribly compelled by the fact Pace isn’t a ragingly popular fan cast.

But we’ve danced this dance before.

If Gunn was purely guided by fancasts, Lex would've never been Nicholas Hoult as his name never came up for any fancasting prior to the announcement, Tom Brittney would've never been one of the finalists for Superman and neither would've Hoult as well, Phoebe Dynevor would also have not been a finalist for Lois, Nathan Fillion would not be playing Guy Gardner (that one in particular seems like a big middle finger to the fancasts of him as Hal Jordan, honestly), and going through his other movies Pratt would've never been Star-Lord and Poulter would've /certainly/ never been Warlock.

Gunn does listen to fancasts, he confirmed it several times already, but he doesn't cast on popularity contests either. Corenswet gave people the illusion that he does, but he really doesn't. And before Corenswet was cast I recall CBM Twitter went on and on with that terrible Wolfgang Novogratz fancast too to the extent that arguably he ended up becoming more popular in those circles than Corenswet and his name never popped up for the screentests.

If it's only 5 people and us fancasting Lee as Batman that could very well be more than enough for him, because on paper, if we put the age thing completely aside, Lee:
-Is someone he's worked with before which means Gunn feels comfortable with him, which he explicitly favors.
-Is tall like how James Gunn likes his leading men.
-Has the exact sort of look and vibe that fits Bruce Wayne as depicted in the comics to the point that when playing him he'd be ripped out of the comic pages, which he clearly also favors looking at his Legacy cast. You can very comfortably picture him saying any line from any Batman comic, especially Morrison's, and it fits.
-Has a deep strong voice that'd work wonders for his plans and is reminiscent of Conroy, which is a take Gunn is a fan of from DCAU and the Arkham games.
-Is someone that'd be more than willing to sign up for Gunn's plans without much hesitation or complaining, which honestly, he'd probably favor a lot as well.

Even if Lee doesn't end up being Batman because of age or whatever reason I can't imagine it'd be an idea that he'd /hate/ let alone throw aside just because it's not a popular fancast. On paper if you look at all the qualities Gunn would be the likeliest to search for in a Batman actor he fits all of them.

You saw what the recent popular fancast of Batman in those circles is? Tom Bateman, who's been terrible in everything he's been in. That's how brilliant CBM Twitter's thought process is for fancast.

 

[The Lazarus Pit]

Gyllenhaal isn’t that selective anymore, he does some questionable projects. The pay issue is legitimate, he’d have a high price tag. The Batman role is the crown jewel of this franchise, if Gunn has a chance of securing an A-lister for 6+ pictures, Batman is the best bet.

It’s not an impossibility for Gyllenhaal to be cast, I don’t think we’re aiming too high here. He has flirted with the idea of it for a long time now, this could be the right time.

He’s by far my favorite for the role at this point. And he wouldn’t be embarrassing as a concurrent Batman compared to Pattinson. Pattinson is a powerhouse and so is Gyllenhaal.

 

[Invader Joker]

Gyllenhaal isn’t that selective anymore, he does some questionable projects. The pay issue is legitimate, he’d have a high price tag. The Batman role is the crown jewel of this franchise, if Gunn has a chance of securing an A-lister for 6+ pictures, Batman is the best bet.

It’s not an impossibility for Gyllenhaal to be cast, I don’t think we’re aiming too high here. He has flirted with the idea of it for a long time now, this could be the right time.

He’s by far my favorite for the role at this point. And he wouldn’t be embarrassing as a concurrent Batman compared to Pattinson. Pattinson is a powerhouse and so is Gyllenhaal.View attachment 73884

I don't think he's outright impossible but I do think he's somewhat unlikely. You are right Batman is the likeliest to attract an A-lister, but he's also the one that needs an A-lister the absolute least and I'm not sure I've seen any indication to think Gunn would break the bank in order to secure an A lister on a project that doesn't need it. So far his Superman castings lack any movie stars whatsoever and that's a property that'd need them more than Batman does. From a studio standpoint I think Gunn and Safran would rather have someone that doesn't balloon the budget of every project Batman would be a part of and from a creative standpoint I think they'd rather have someone that gives them flexibility in terms of all the places they could use Batman(Movies, shows, animation, videogames)

 

[flickchick85]

Gyllenhaal ain’t impossible, just highly improbable.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Gyllenhaal isn’t exactly picky these days, but I think he’s in the Gosling arena where getting him to sign to multiple films is the problem. He peaced out of Spidey as soon as humanly possible.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

Gyllenhaal isn’t exactly picky these days, but I think he’s in the Gosling arena where getting him to sign to multiple films is the problem. He peaced out of Spidey as soon as humanly possible.

Price is the other thing. I have trouble imagining WB wanting to pay the type of insane monster salary Jake would be getting unless you're Margot Robbie who will presumably be getting seven billion dollars next time she plays Harley.

 

[Invader Joker]

Price is the other thing. I have trouble imagining WB wanting to pay the type of insane monster salary Jake would be getting unless you're Margot Robbie who will presumably be getting seven billion dollars next time she plays Harley.

One thing all DCU castings so far have in common (aside from general characteristics like how traditionally casted they are) is: They're all cheap.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

Gyllenhaal as Batman has never done it for me as far as potential casting goes. I am glad Bale beat him out for the role in Begins. I think he's more suited for villains like Mysterio or The Riddler.

 

[flickchick85]

NGL, I would be totally on board with Jake because he’s such a brilliant actor, but on the other hand, the 2nd question I always ask myself when considering a candidate for Batman, after “what kind of actor is he,” is “what does he SOUND like,” and that’s where Jake loses points big time for me. His perpetual Boy Voice is like the total opposite of what Bruce should sound like in my head, and while I’d be happy to get past it if he were chosen just because I know he’d kill it in the acting department, it still makes him far from my top choice. The Voice is a big part of the whole Batman package for me, and I hate voice changers, so I’d prefer an actor who’s got a killer voice naturally. It’s not a deal breaker, but a much bigger factor with this character than others for me.

 

[Invader Joker]

NGL, I would be totally on board with Jake because he’s such a brilliant actor, but on the other hand, the 2nd question I always ask myself when considering a candidate for Batman, after “what kind of actor is he,” is “what does he SOUND like,” and that’s where Jake loses points big time for me. His perpetual Boy Voice is like the total opposite of what Bruce should sound like in my head, and while I’d be happy to get past it if he were chosen just because I know he’d kill it in the acting department, it still makes him far from my top choice. The Voice is a big part of the whole Batman package for me, and I hate voice changers, so I’d prefer an actor who’s got a killer voice naturally. It’s not a deal breaker, but a much bigger factor with this character than others for me.

It's an even bigger factor in this take too since he'll have to be voice acting as well. The fact he got to #2 in the Batman Begins days makes me think he probably does have a good Batman voice in him somehow but yeah it's hard to picture when he doesn't even change his voice for any of his roles. I'd still take him over almost anybody else but yeah even from that angle he's not perfect.

 

[SwordOfMorning]

NGL, I would be totally on board with Jake because he’s such a brilliant actor, but on the other hand, the 2nd question I always ask myself when considering a candidate for Batman, after “what kind of actor is he,” is “what does he SOUND like,” and that’s where Jake loses points big time for me. His perpetual Boy Voice is like the total opposite of what Bruce should sound like in my head, and while I’d be happy to get past it if he were chosen just because I know he’d kill it in the acting department, it still makes him far from my top choice. The Voice is a big part of the whole Batman package for me, and I hate voice changers, so I’d prefer an actor who’s got a killer voice naturally. It’s not a deal breaker, but a much bigger factor with this character than others for me.

That is a feature not a bug for me. I adore Jake’s voice and think it’s so unlike any other Batman that it is instantly exciting for me, just imagining the weird shrill Jake shriek coming out of the cowl is the perfect mix of funny and awesome.

 

[Invader Joker]

Sidenote: I realize this may be a reach, but Gunn casting Hoult as Lex kinda reinforces my feeling he won't be hellbent on making Batman as close in age to Superman as possible.

The only reason to even be hellbent on that idea is to try to go for a "they could've been brothers" "look how much they parallel each other" take on both, but Clark will already have a 30 something handsome powerful businessman type paralleling him very directly and looking like he could've been his brother.

Doing the same thing twice with Bruce just feels like it'd be repetitive and I don't really see Gunn doing that, which is bizarrely something I've seen a lot of fans wanting him to do (probably because most comic artists are lazy and they draw Bruce and Clark the same in the comics and fans fixate on that superficial aspect)