The Batman Reboot Casting Thread

[Eddie Dean]

Josh Brolin as Batman

Callan McAuliffe as Dick Grayson / Robin

Simon Callow as Alfred Pennyworth

Bryan Cranston as Commissioner Gordon

Viggo Mortensen as Hugo Strange

Ben Foster as The Joker

Katee Sackhoff as Harley Quinn

Jeremy Davies as The Riddler

Nice cast

 

[Majik1387]

It's obvious he will.

This is the same situation as Superman, Nolan is getting his people to draft a script he approves of.

I don't seriously think Warners trusts anyone other than Nolan to plan Batman's future, based on Robinov's comments.


Makes sense though, it's a billion dollar franchaise. They have too much to lose if they screw it up again.

Whatever you say

Josh Brolin as Batman

Callan McAuliffe as Dick Grayson / Robin

Simon Callow as Alfred Pennyworth

Bryan Cranston as Commissioner Gordon

Viggo Mortensen as Hugo Strange

Ben Foster as The Joker

Katee Sackhoff as Harley Quinn

Jeremy Davies as The Riddler

Decent cast minus Sackhoff.

 

[flickchick85]

Callan McAuliffe as Dick Grayson / Robin

Bryan Cranston as Commissioner Gordon

These two are SPOT ON.

I'm still not seeing any choices for Batman that excite me. It's weird, a few years ago there were several...but by now they're either getting too old or have been snatched up by another franchise.

 

[Man of Tomorrow]

Fassbender would have been an incredible Batman, better than Bale.

Alas, it's too late now.

 

[Jordacar]

Okay, I’ve been working on this for a little while now. Y’all know my thoughts on a Batman TV show, so here’s my ready-for-prime-time cast:

BATMAN: Michael Mosley, Jared Padelecki, Dan Ewing

Jared Padelecki is my #1 choice for a TV Batman. It’s been a long time coming, but now he’s got the chiseled features, the voice, the presence, the acting chops, and he’s turned in years of dedicated service for the WB. Literally my only objection is that he’s a huge guy. Bruce Wayne doesn’t really need to be 6’4”.
Michael Mosley (from “Scrubs” final season) has the right look and a great voice. He’ll also be on the upcoming show “Pan Am”.
Dan Ewing is a good left field pick. He’s got the good looks, the physical prowess and the tough guy swagger. He was the best thing about one of Power Rangers’ best seasons (RPM), and Batman would be a hell of an upgrade from the Black Ranger.

ALFRED: Anthony Daniels

I love this pick. After almost thirty five years of playing the same robot, it’d be awesome to see him take on another iconic role and nail it immediately. He’s a natural fit for the warmth, charm and humor that we’ve come to expect from the best depictions of Bruce Wayne’s loyal butler.

JIM GORDON: Bryan Cranston, Michael Biehn, Bruce Boxleitner

Bryan Cranston is everyone’s favorite, and is even playing Gordon in the animated YEAR ONE. He’d be a great fit for the strung-out but ever vigilant good cop in a crap city. Here are two other guys who would also rule:
Michael Biehn is the same age as Cranston, and is still great with the weathered hero type.
Bruce Boxleitner is my pick; he has that aging good guy vibe and loads of built-in geek cred. Plus he’s got a voice aged like fine scotch.

HARVEY DENT/TWO-FACE: Nathan Fillion, Sam Witwer, Phil Winchester

Harvey needs, as they say in Hollywood, a Harrison Ford-type; a guy who can be laid-back and dashing one minute (a la Han Solo) and intense the next (a la Jack Ryan). I don’t have to tell you why Nathan Fillion (“Firefly”, “Castle”) definitely qualifies for that mold. Unlike other fans, I have trouble seeing Sam Witwer (“Being Human”) as Bruce, but as Harvey he could definitely work. Philip Winchester (“Camelot”) is an underrated actor IMO; he somehow manages to be captivating even when the material is mediocre.

SELINA KYLE/CATWOMAN: Lauren Cohan, Erica Cerra, Holly Valance

(Toby Turner voice) HOT-HOT-HOT-HOT-HOT-HOT-HOT
Lauren Cohan is carving out quite a niche of morally ambiguous bombshells lately on “Chuck”, “Vampire Diaries” and “Supernatural”.
Erica Cerra is a great tough chick on “Eureka”, and even better when she lets her hair down (plus that smokey voice would be great on Selina).
Holly Valance is amazingly talented and is overdue for some exposure on this side of the pond.

DICK GRAYSON/ROBIN: Callan McAuliffe, Jake T. Austin, Hunter Gomez

It’s hard to avoid teen-heartthrob territory when casting Robin. So I say just embrace it. I’d start Dick Grayson off at about 15 or 16 and go from there.
So here we’ve got three candidates, all currently under 20. Callan McAuliffe played a good not-annoying sidekick, IMHO, in I Am Number Four. Jake Austin has grown out of “Wizards of Waverly Place” and seems poised for an upgrade. Hunter Gomez, although the oldest, is far less known (he’s played ‘Young [Main Character] a lot). He’s got the right look; I could see him getting a shot.

BARBARA GORDON/BATGIRL: Molly C. Quinn (“Castle”)

All the talented young ladies out there and my list of choices for Babs is still one name long. Batgirl is another character it would be great to develop over time, starting out practically as a background character in the first season and evolving into a full-fledged superhero later on. Quinn is simply radiant on “Castle” and it’s fun to imagine that type of character eventually delving into some extracurricular badassery.

LUCIUS FOX: Clarke Peters (“Treme”, “The Wire”)

Probably my favorite actor from “The Wire” (and that is some mighty stiff competition).

LESLIE THOMPKINS: Ellen Burstyn

She’s 78? Seriously? Anyhow, Leslie would fulfill an emotional and moral counterpoint for Bruce similar to Rachel Dawes in the movies, but more maternal and less love-interest. And you can’t aim much higher than an Oscar-nominee like Burstyn.

 

[Jordacar]

RENEE MONTOYA: Dania Ramirez (“Entourage”, X-Men 3)

Anyone who kicks the crap out of Halle Berry is all right in my book. And she’s Dominican too! How sweet is that!

HARVEY BULLOCK: Wade Williams ("Prison Break")

Normally I wouldn’t do something as obvious as cast Bellick to play Bullock, but in this case Williams is perfect. He’s already a DC fan (he’s even acted in a couple of their DTVs) and he fills out the role as the gruff, abrasive detective

SARAH ESSEN: Connie Britton (“Friday Night Lights”)

Just the kind of lady detective an overworked commish could fall for. FNL is over, but I still need my Tami Taylor fix.

VICKY VALE: Autumn Reeser

It’s time to bring back Vicki Vale. The idea of a reporter trying to get the scoop on the Dark Knight is good meat for a prime time series. Reeser was by far the best thing about the lackluster “No Ordinary Family”, which is important for a character as potentially annoying as Vicki.

SLAM BRADLEY: Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen)

Another “Supernatural” alum, and another one-name list of candidates, Morgan fits the bill better than anyone as everyone’s favorite badass over-the-hill PI.

HOLLY ROBINSON: Jordan Hinson ("Eureka")

On a TV show, you can explore everyone’s supporting cast, and if Selina got an expanded role, we would have to meet her surprisingly capable would-be sidekick.

Not much to say about the mob guys, I mostly just grabbed a few of my favorite ‘hey it’s that guy’ actors.

CARMINE FALCONE: David Morse

SAL MARONI: Bobby Cannavale

ROLAND DAGGETT: Gregg Henry

RUPERT THORNE: John Doman

 

[Jordacar]

Now enough of those puny humans, it’s time for a better class of criminal!

JOKER: Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad”, “Big Love”), Ryan O’Nan (The Dry Land), Paulo Costanzo (“Royal Pains”)

Heath Ledger wasn’t anybody’s first choice; he probably wasn’t anybody’s thousandth choice. And he knocked it out of the park. Even Nolan didn’t expect Ledger to do some of the things he did with the role.
At the very least, you need a great actor with good comedic timing and a lot of range. Aaron Paul is constantly amazing on “Breaking Bad”, often funny and captivating at the same time. Paulo Costanzo is the sole reason I continue to watch “Royal Pains”. I mentioned Ryan O’Nan in my Gargoyles cast; like the other two, he’s got the crazy eyes and he knows how to use them.

HARLEY QUINN: Jena Malone (Sucker Punch, Into the Wild), Rose McIver (The Lovely Bones), Ari Graynor (Whip It, Holy Rollers)

Harley is the kind of juicy role that I think a lot of young actresses would try to land. Here are three that I particularly like, although I can’t decide which one I prefer.
Jena Malone, on top of her natural edgy cuteness, showed impressive physical ability in Sucker Punch. Ari Graynor has great ditzy-smart charisma plus a killer bod. Rose McIver (another former Ranger), has the physical prowess covered and has far more range than one would expect from an actress her age.

PENGUIN: Willie Garson (“White Collar”)

Garson’s a great character actor and plays a fantastic likeable lowlife on “White Collar”. He’d be a perfect fit for a strangely charming scumsmear like Penguin.

RIDDLER: James Callis (“Battlestar Galactica”, “Eureka”)

Callis is great with the smug insufferable magnificent bastard that a live-action Riddler would likely be. The TAS version would be perfect, plus longer prime-time episodes would mean more wiggle room for the really crazy plots TAS couldn’t pull off.

SCARECROW: Mark Pellegrino (“Lost”, “Being Human”)

Pellegrino is really cornering the market on soft-spoken dead-eyed creeps.

POISON IVY: Evan Rachel Wood (“Mildred Pierce”, “True Blood”)

Skewing a bit young with Ivy, but ERW is such a wonderfully nuanced actress yet still knows when to camp it up and bring the crazy.


MR. FREEZE: Tobin Bell (Saw)

The role may be a tad physical for a guy his age, but good God that voice. Say whatever you want about the SAW movies, but can you imagine that Jigsaw voice topped off with some freaky Darth Vader robotics?

 

[Jordacar]

KILLER CROC: Kevin Durand (“Lost”, I Am Number Four)

He keeps popping up in my casts. I have no problem with that. Croc is one of the trickier rogues to pull off in live action (especially on a TV budget), but Durand’s hulking frame and creepy demeanor would get them more than half-way there.

HUGO STRANGE: Jared Harris (“Mad Men,” “Fringe”)

Harris did a great evil scientist shtick on “Fringe”. And I decided not to grab a shot of him with the identical yellow shades. Tempting though ;-)

MAD HATTER: Simon McBurney (Body of Lies)

Another English character actor; he’s got the look for whatever iteration the show would do, though I wonder how well he could pull of the lovelorn ex-labgeek version from TAS.

VENTRILOQUIST/SCARFACE: Colin Mochrie (“Whose Line is it Anyway?”)

Not sure about his ventriloquism skills, but the “Whose Line” veteran has the right look and comedy chops to pull of one of Batman’s more oddball rogues.

RA’S AL GHUL: Sean Bean, Chow Yun Fat, Laurence Fishburne

Batman’s most powerful foe needs star power. On a TV show, he’s the kind of villain that they would build up to for a long time before we finally see him, much like Darkseid on “Smallville”. When we DO see him, he has to exude menace and authority from the moment he walks in. For this, I decided to make it interesting, since Ra’s is the most race-liftable character in the Batman canon. The only requirements for the actor is that he strike an imposing figure, speak (near) perfect English, and be great with a sword. Jason Isaacs is the fan favorite. Here are three other guys who I assume need no introduction.

TALIA AL GHUL: Dichen Lachman, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Freida Pinto

If we’re gonna play race-lift for Ra’s, it’s only fair we do it for Talia as well. After “Dollhouse”, I want to cast Dichen Lachman in everything. Gugu Mbatha-Raw was quite good on “Undercovers”, even though the show was ass. And the lovely Freida Pinto has been on the rise since Slumdog Millionaire, and also strikes the perfect Bond-girl vibe for a character like Talia.

UBU: Robert Maillet (Sherlock Holmes, 300)

Remember the giant French thug in ‘Sherlock’ who was impervious to hammers? Yeah.

And as a bonus, a few characters who would probably appear well into the series:

HUNTRESS/HELENA BERTINELLI: Tania Raymonde (“Lost”)

LADY SHIVA: Maggie Q (“Nikita”)

BATWOMAN/KATE KANE: Deborah Ann Woll (“True Blood”)

 

[Airwings]

I think if Robin is going to appear, they should do it out of order and not have Dick Grayson. The new Batman can take place another time in Batman's crime fighting days. Maybe he even had his first Robin already. It could be mentioned, or just being hinted at.
I think it could be more interesting with Jason Todd, because he's know as the "Robin who dies". The story would be quite dark, yes.

Down here I post two pictures of an actor that SHOULD have played Robin 1998-99. He looks just PERFECT for the role.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Excellent casting, Jordacar. Jared Harris as Hugo Strange is my favorite. May I suggest Walton Goggins for a TV Joker?

 

[papacolli88]

i say ben affleck as batman

 

[Jordacar]

Yeah because Daredevil worked out so well for him.

 

[Man of Tomorrow]

My Batman 4 Cast Preferences:


Noah Bean as Batman/Bruce Wayne

Bryan Cranston as Commissioner Gordon

Viggo Mortensen as Black Mask

Michael C. Hall as The Riddler

Phillip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin

Bill Nighy as Alfred Pennyworth

Emily Blunt as Vicki Vale

 

[Eddie Dean]

Bill Nighy as Alfred would be so awesome.

 

[Matt.S99]

Colin Mochrie!

I dont know, I still like the idea of Witwer as Batman, though I also like Padalecki. I can definitely see him more as Bruce.
And Debra as Batwoman is perfect.

 

[flickchick85]

Fassbender would have been an incredible Batman, better than Bale.

Agreed (and I LOVE Bale as Batman). But he's still my top choice for Green Arrow if that ever happens.

Nice TV cast Jordacar. The only ones that stick out as wrong to me are the Batman picks, but that's largely because I can't stand Jared Padalecki and am unfamiliar with the other two. But as I mentioned upthread, I'm having a hard time finding anyone available that I like for Batman at the moment.

 

[Man of Tomorrow]

Fassbender has made too big an impression as Magneto to play GA now. He's the 'Jackman' of First Class. I'm sure Fox will milk this thing for sequels based on it's critical success.

Padalecki? I've seen all of Supernatural and he definitely lacks the threatening and intimidating dark qualities needed for the character. His range is more of a boyscout-type, not a badass.


Nolan and crew will have to search for a lesser known up and comer to play Batman in the fourth film. Nowadays there aren't really any young actors with lead film experience (like Bale) who fit the role.

They may have to go for a lesser known young TV actor, like how they cast Superman.

 

[flickchick85]

Fassbender has made too big an impression as Magneto to play GA now. He's the 'Jackman' of First Class. I'm sure Fox will milk this thing for sequels based on it's critical success.

Well I hope so, as I want to see more from those characters/actors. But its box office is still iffy on sequel potential, imo. And if they don't continue with this Magneto as a franchise, I see no problem with him stepping into another. I feel the same way about Jackman, actually. It honestly doesn't bother me when people play more than one comic book character, as long the characters they play aren't part of the same universe.

 

[Matt.S99]

I could see Padalecki being a good Bruce. Dont know about Batman.

 

[Airwings]

Off-topic, but Edward Furlong should have played Dick Grayson/Robin in 1995 Batman Forever. He would have been just right back then, while he still was promising and not a fat has-been. And the character should have been more dark than the Chris O'Donnell version.

 

[Majik1387]

No, he shouldn't have.

 

[Airwings]

Come up with someone better then.

 

[Eddie Dean]

Sharlto Copley as The Joker

 

[Steve Holt]

paul giamatti as the penguin!

 

[Airwings]

No, Edward Furlong as The Penguin

I have been thinking about something. If Nolan is producing and over-looking this as a godfather of superhero films, he perhaps would approve Aronofsky for the job. His Batman can be quite similar and remerkable different at the same time, and that's amazing!
I hope it so happens. Don't you? I mean, he should NOT do Robocop or Wolverine.... he belongs to Batman.