When any actor gets to a certain level of popularity and recognition they are going to be the names you hear whenever any major role in a tentpole production is mentioned. With Alan Ritchson having made a name for himself as the lead in Reacher (which is available with an Amazon Prime subscription), as well as joining the Fast & Furious franchise, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before he joins a major superhero franchise. So what about Alan Ritchson as Batman?
Ritchson is one of the many names rumored to be playing the caped crusader, despite James Gunn assuring fans no decisions have yet been made. Ritchson has implied he'd be interested in joining the upcoming Batman movie. Ritchson’s recent Reacher co-star Robert Patrick knows DC chief James Gunn well and was part of the Peacemaker cast a show both written and almost completely directed by Gunn. CinemaBlend recently had a chance to speak with Patrick and for his part he seems to think that Ritchson working with Gunn would be a perfect match, saying…
I can tell you this. I'm a friend of James Gunn. I love James Gunn. I love his wife. He's one of my favorite people I've ever worked with in my life. He is a creative juggernaut. I mean, there's so much creativity around him. He's buzzy. It's like a hum with that guy. I love him to death. And I think that he and Alan, the little bit (of) time I got to work with Alan, I think that'd be a wonderful fit. I think the two of 'em would have a ball together.
To be clear, even if Alan Ritchson was cast as Batman, he wouldn’t be working directly for James Gunn. The Brave and the Bold, the planned DCU Batman movie in which Ritchson would, theoretically, play the role, is set to be directed by The Flash director Andy Muschietti. Still, as the head of DC Gunn would certainly be involved, and the fact that the two would, according to Patrick, get along well, is far from the worst reason to cast somebody in a long-term franchise role.
At this point, we have very few The Brave and the Bold details that tell us much about the movie. There wasn't a Batman script the last we heard. But in addition, to be able to play the role, one of the things that James Gunn and company will certainly be looking for is experience, and Patrick thinks that Ritchson has some key experience because Gunn is similar to Reacher creator Nick Santora in some key ways that could make them work together much more smooth. Patrick continued…
Alan just wants to please, and do right. . . . I think that when Alan gets a chance to work with a guy like James Gunn, I think it could be a wonderful collaboration. I think they'd have a lot of fun together. I know that James is no bullshit guy, like Nick Santora, as well. Neither one of those guys wants to work with assholes. You want an environment where it's going to be fun, it's going to be creative, it's going to be loose, it's going to be relaxed. You still have to work hard. But they would have a ball together. I actually think that would be a great thing. I would love to see it.
There seems a decent chance that who the DCU Batman is will be determined this year, though exactly what the Brave and the Bold release date will be os one of those things we just don’t know. If Ritchson is in the running, one hopes he’ll be able to do that and continue to play Reacher. It would be a shame to have to trade one for the other.
There are no upcoming DCU movies in the 2024 release schedule, but the new DC universe Gods and Monsters chapter will be launching later this year with the Creature Commandos animated series.
