DCU Batman casting: why does James Gunn want a Superman peer?

James Gunn says the DCU's Batman has not been cast yet. He also says casting is not far off, the actor needs to be close in age to David Corenswet's Superman, and the role does not need a movie star. We spent a long stretch of our podcast unpacking what that tells us about who Gunn might pick. We also floated some guesses of our own.

Gunn made the comments on the DC podcast with Steve Agee and Jennifer Holland. The episode was mainly about how much The Suicide Squad (2021) counts as canon, but the conversation turned to Batman in the DCU.

James Gunn says DCU Batman has not been cast and casting rumors are nonsense

It was stressed on the podcast that playing one character does not stop an actor from being used again in a different role. He said Batman has not been cast, and he dismissed the rumors that pick a Batman based on who people think will appear in this or that film as nonsense.

When the DCU Batman is cast, which Gunn says is not far off, he does not want to rule anyone out from being the best Batman. That includes someone he gave a minor part to in The Suicide Squad. He wants to keep every option on the table.

Part of what excites him is the chance to cast the actor who is best suited to the role. He pointed out that Superman has always been cast on the basis of who is the best actor for the part. For some reason, he said, Batman has always been cast on the basis of movie stars.

Why Gunn wants Batman to be the same generation as Superman

On the DC podcast, the question came up of whether age should be a factor. The answer was yes. Whoever is cast will be playing the role ten years from now, so it is very important, and the actor cannot be 60.

Gunn added that people always look for little hints about the Batman casting. He said Batman and Superman are close in age, that he does not think their ages differ much, and that they will be best friends in the future. Either way, they are from the same generation.

It struck us as interesting that he frames them as contemporaries who need to be close in age if they are going to be friends later on. That suggests we could see a World's Finest style team up between the two. The thinking in our discussion was also that Gunn has shown interest in this kind of story before. David Corenswet is 33 as of this podcast, and it was suggested that Batman needs an actor around his age.

When the DCU might announce its Batman

Gunn says casting is close while denying the casting rumors. Even so, the thinking in the discussion was that they probably already have a casting list and will make the call. The open question was whether that happens by the end of this year or in the early months of 2027.

The honest answer is that we don't know what the next DCU project after Man of Tomorrow is. So we don't know what the future holds for the DCU. Part of the delay may have been waiting until things were fully settled on the mergers. Still, it seems they need to start announcing and moving forward soon.

It is surely near the top of their priorities, assuming Batman is going to be in something in the near future. The expectation in our conversation was that Gunn will face some pressure to announce a new Batman film on the upcoming slate. That means someone will have to be cast in the role.

Gunn says Batman does not need a star like Ben Affleck or Robert Pattinson

Gunn also said he does not need a star. The thinking in the discussion was that he was pushing back on the idea that the role requires an actor at the level of Ben Affleck or Robert Pattinson, and that he might prefer someone else.

The other side of that, raised in our discussion, is that when Pattinson was cast he was not only a star but also a very skilled actor, maybe one of our best. The argument was that we are in a great era, where our biggest stars right now are also among our best actors. Sydney Sweeney might fit the category of stars who don't act well, it was said, but she is not a bad actor, and she is not as big a star as social media makes her out to be.

Running through the biggest stars right now, the names were Michael B. Jordan, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Pattinson, Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh and Margot Robbie. The point made was that none of them is a bad actor in any way.

Big movie stars who were not great actors

That contrasts with past eras, when there were big movie stars who were not skilled actors. The craft of screen acting has developed a great deal. Pick a random film from the box office top ten of around 1985, it was argued, and the good actors still hold up, but the cast from fifth billing down to 25th is very poor in most older films.

Arnold Schwarzenegger came up as an example. The view expressed was a love for him and growing up on all his films, but he is a big star and not a good actor. Tim Allen was named as another big star who would probably say himself that he is not a great actor. Studios also took people like war hero Audie Murphy, or even Elvis Presley, made them stars and gave them 30 films to headline.

Comedy stars used to say they were funny but not good actors. Jim Carrey tried to defy that expectation with Man on the Moon and redefine himself, but that was rare. Bill Murray, Will Ferrell, Eddie Murphy and Adam Sandler were not chasing recognition as serious actors at first. Almost all of them changed course later, though, and gave Oscar nominated performances after years in the business.

There was also an observation about the last five years: casting directors seem to be chasing the next Chalamet, looking for someone like Josh O'Connor or Austin Abrams. The idea is to find young, committed acting talent who can command the screen the way Chalamet does, then pull them into the Marvel machine, the Star Wars machine or the Dune machine.

Gunn's casting history and the case for a lesser known actor

Gunn's track record makes his comments more interesting. As he said, having a small part in one of his earlier projects does not take someone out of the running. He has reused Michael Rooker and others.

The catch, as it came up in our discussion, is that Gunn doesn't seem to have many male actors in that age range in his regular circle. He has a lot of friends in their late forties and early fifties whom he puts in all his projects. There might be someone with one line in an early project, but nobody from his usual ensemble jumps out as an ideal Batman in his early thirties. Skyler Gisondo was offered as an example of the younger actors he has worked with, though the idea of him playing both Jimmy Olsen and Bruce Wayne was called crazy.

Corenswet was a particular kind of choice. He had somewhat proven himself and was on the verge of breaking out. Between his casting and the release of Superman (2025), he was in Twisters and Pearl, so he was clearly rising when he was cast, even if people hadn't seen him in much. So maybe the right person right now is a TV actor, or someone who has done some indie films, and not a household name. When Gunn cast Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Pratt was not a known film actor. He was Andy from Parks and Recreation. Gunn seems to like casting less known actors in his big roles.

What a DCU Batman needs alongside Superman and Wonder Woman

What we are picturing is someone with chemistry with David Corenswet and with Adria Arjona as Wonder Woman, assuming she plays the role. That person should also fit the Gotham residents we saw in Clayface, a night watchman for a city full of violent people. Someone suited to a grown up Batman, with a dark personality, who offers a response to that city's corruption.

Corenswet already looked a lot like Superman. In Twisters and Pearl he looks like Clark Kent: tall, muscular, with dark hair, even though he bulked up. That raised the question of whether Gunn will pick someone with a jaw that looks good in the cowl. The answer was that Gunn doesn't care about that.

The view expressed was that this is exactly Gunn's point: historically, studios have always run the suit test. That is how Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck and Pattinson were cast. Another actor screen tested against Pattinson, and Pattinson reportedly got the role on the jaw test, though which actor it was could not be remembered. The view expressed was that it was good Pattinson got it, because he is great in the role. The reading of Gunn's comments was that he wouldn't mind a quirky, theater obsessed actor who can capture the darkness Chalamet does well. Gunn might have considered Chalamet, but the guess was that he won't get it this time.

Alan Ritchson, Jeremy Allen White and the type Gunn looks for

There was trust expressed in Gunn when he says he wants the best possible actor first and foremost. The question was whether he would look for someone physically different from Pattinson, an indie leading man type, like a big muscular guy along the lines of Dave Bautista. The answer was no. The thinking is that Gunn wants someone different from Superman. Alan Ritchson was ruled out, first because he is too old for what Gunn is describing. The admiration for Ritchson was clear, but not in this kind of role.

What about Jeremy Allen White, who is around 170 cm in shoes and couldn't stand eye to eye with the 190 cm Corenswet? The answer was that he could, and that he is the type of actor Gunn looks for. He is a TV star with well liked roles in Shameless and The Bear. He became something of a joke around The Mandalorian and Grogu, but the view was that it wasn't his fault. He has also recently been in a Bruce Springsteen biopic.

There was a gentle critique of Gunn here: the suggestion that he casts people he would like to spend fun evenings with. The idea was that Corenswet fills the slot Nathan Fillion of Firefly filled last decade. Nerdy directors love casting a big brother type buddy who would stand up to their bullies. That is who Joss Whedon would pick, the argument went, and Gunn works that way too, as does Terry Matalas with Todd Stashwick. Jon Hamm gets cast in that kind of role, the handsome guy hanging out with the nerds. So the question becomes who is the Cillian Murphy of casting right now, because the feeling expressed was that Gunn will pick someone like him.

Does the DCU Batman have to be American

Cillian Murphy is not American, which raised the question of whether the long list is happening alongside James Bond casting, where British actors are being sought, and whether British, Australian, Irish or Scottish actors would be considered for an American character.

The response was that anyone from any country who meets the other requirements would be a good option. The argument was that it matters more for Superman to be a Midwestern American than for Batman. Gotham is a strange world of its own, even if it sits in south New Jersey. Filming Gotham anywhere in the world with the production infrastructure is fine, including Batman in Liverpool, where Clayface was already shot. Casting someone who grew up in Liverpool would be fine too. Chemistry with Arjona and Corenswet was named as among the most important things to look at, at least as important as finding an introvert who could live in the Gotham we saw in Clayface.

Batman sells tickets, so the actor matters less. A performer like Michael Keaton can draw attention, and Tom Holland adds a lot to Spider-Man, but you could put almost anyone in that suit and many people would show up. There was some comfort that the pick won't be a total unknown, since this is a huge franchise and needs someone who has done a film before. The reading of Gunn was that it doesn't have to be a top tier star from an earlier franchise.

Our DCU Batman predictions: Jesse Plemons, Zach Gilford and a Slow Horses actor

Three predictions were offered, with the hope that one might come true: the actor will be at least 183 cm tall, will be American, and, as the boldest call, will not be white. A bonus caveat followed that maybe none of them will happen.

Then came a wild card: Jesse Plemons. The pushback was that he is too old, though the idea still got support, and he was said to still be in his thirties, though that was offered with some uncertainty. A blond Batman was called interesting. The appeal is real acting talent from someone who has never played a superhero. The contradiction was acknowledged, since one of the whitest actors around was named right after a prediction of a non-white Batman.

Following the Friday Night Lights thread, Zach Gilford was suggested as Batman. That was called a deeper pick, and not a disliked one. At 44 he may be a bit too old, and the suggestion was walked back, but what he did in Mike Flanagan's Midnight Mass was very good, and that type of actor could work.

Finally, there was the idea that once Bond is cast, Gunn might look at the other Bond contenders for Batman, since Bruce Wayne has some James Bond in him in certain versions. The Slow Horses actor seen as a leading Bond contender right now could make a good Batman. He isn't American, but that's fine.