I could actually get behind Urban as Batman. He's a capable actor, has the requisite physique, and has a great glare. But I could definitely see Gerard Butler. He seems believable as a brawler. Bale was certainly good in the role--and he's no weakling--but he alway seemed a little, I dunno, small. I think anyone who's going to be Batman should almost, by definition, be built like The Rock. And, actually, why the hell not? How about Hugh Jackman as an older Batman?
Funny you mention it, in the bonuses of "Batman Begins", they said that Bale on his own, without asking/informing, worked out like a maniac, and built himself up to WWE wrestler proportions. The crew was horrified, and they had a helluva time shrinking him back down to a karate physique in time for the movie.
it depends on how you define "older" for one thing, for a guy who is, essentially, a superb athlete, being past 40 is very much "older" - but if you mean movie-screen older, maybe you want to go beyond even that. For instance, if you wanted to go the full "Dark Knight Returns" route with a seriously older Batman, then you open the door to people like Robert DeNiro or whatever, but few of them are going to physically pull off the look (do you dare CGI a buff physique onto a guy like that the way they did with Zod's armor?) But let's set an upper limit at 60 and a lower limit at 40 Pierce Brosnan - 60 Bill Pullman - 59 John Travolta - 59 David Kieth - 59 Chris Noth - 58 Ray Liotta - 58 Denzel Washington - 58 (talk about rocking the boat!) Bruce Willis - 58 (Hmmm....) William Defoe - 58 Mel Gibson - 57 (can definitely do the "psycho" thing) Tom Hanks - 57 Bruce Greenwood - 56 <<<THIS would be worth considering Gary Cole - 56 (another guy good at the psycho thing) Denis Leary - 55 (ditto) Gary Oldman - 55 Bruce Campbell - 55 (somehow thought he was older than this) Kevin Bacon - 55 (not totally crazy idea) Tim Robbins - 54 Matthew Modine - 54 Vincent D'Onofrio - 54 Val Kilmer - 53 (Heyo!) George Clooney - 52 (ya know, he'd never agree to do it given the past but....give then a real good cheese--free script to work with and I would have pretty much no problem with this) Dylan McDermott - 51 Tom Cruise - 51 (Yes, he COULD do it and do it well, if you compensate for the height issue via some sort of trickery) As it turns out, i don't have time right now to do the 40's so if someone else wants to, feel free.
Latest rumors are that Warners wants to pour dumptrucks of money on Bale to come back, and that Orlando Bloom is at the top of their backup list if he still says no. http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/28132/latest-batman-rumors-involve-bale-bloom I call bullshit on these rumors, but if so, no, and no. 1. Be original. 2. Bat-Legolas? No.
Oh dear God, please not Bloom. Please, please, please not Bloom. I'd have Johnny Depp before Bloom, and I really wouldn't want Depp. I'd be happy to see Bale take the role again. As for Nova's list: Pierce Brosnan - No Bill Pullman - No John Travolta - No David Kieth - No Chris Noth - No Ray Liotta - No Denzel Washington - Sure, why not? Bruce Willis - Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh...okay, yes. Just because he's Bruce-fuckin'-Willis. William Defoe - No, would've made a great Joker back in the day, though Mel Gibson - Maybe Tom Hanks - No Bruce Greenwood - No Gary Cole - No Denis Leary - No Gary Oldman - No Bruce Campbell - No Kevin Bacon - Possible Tim Robbins - No Matthew Modine - No Vincent D'Onofrio - No Val Kilmer - No George Clooney - Hmmm. Maybe. Dylan McDermott - I liked him for the role 20 years ago, he might work today Tom Cruise - Yes, could work. At the risk of not being taken seriously, let me just throw out a name I alluded to a few posts back: The Rock. I mean, if you want someone who's a credible bad-ass and who looks like he'd have a prayer against Superman, the Rock's your guy.
Fun crossover fact: The Rock gave Hugh Jackman his diet and workout routine he used to get ripped for "The Wolverine".
Actually, the more I think about it, the more I want it to happen... HUGH JACKMAN for Batman. I know the Marvel people would shit--there may even be a clause is in his contract preventing him from playing other superheroes--but he would be right for the role in almost every way.
one guy that somehow wasnt on the source list i used for actors i ntheir fifties (and honestly, if they are considering Bloom then all these guys are too old: Viggo Mortensen. Which...i could work with that.
Don't think so - the oldest you can go is early 40s. He needs to share screen time with a young guy like Cavill, and you want this guy around for several movies. Geriatric batman doesn't work. My list: Harry Dean Morgan Karl Urban Richard Armitage Josh Brolin Gerard Butler Alexander Skaarsgard No way in Hell, they go with Hugh Jackman. For the same reason they won't cast Michael Fassbender, though he'd be great in the part. A name that keeps popping up is Tyler Hoechlin, who is young (25), sure as hell looks the part, but I have no idea if he has the presence or acting chops for the role. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Hoechlin And here's a thought - how about Andrew Lincoln, the lead in the Walking Dead?
I'm not sure if he looks the part, but Johnson does turn out to be a fairly decent actor. It's not like we're talking Steve Austin here. I could live with Brolin but in my view anyone that's not Urban is at east some measure of fail. OTOH, if they do want to go with a younger less established guy (as they did with Cavill) then Tyler Hoechlin would be hard to beat.
Are you talking about Jeffrey Dean Morgan who played the Comedian in Watchmen or Harry Morgan who played Colonel Sherman Potter in the M*A*S*H television series? Cause, y'know, I think either of them would work. Anyhoo, Brolin works, but I think I'd like Butler, Urban, or the Rock better. I still say Hugh Jackman is the guy to get.
Yeah, the guy in Losers and the Watchmen. As opposed to the guy who is currently under contract as Wolverine, which ain't going to happen fan boy. I'm not a supporter of the Rock. Love Dwayne Johnson, but I don't see him in thsi. Joe Manganiello might be in the works too - I'd have to see how he cleans up to play Bruce Wayne though. He was evidently 2nd choice for Supes, so we know the execs like him. In a perfect world, it would be Urban. He can do billy bad ass and do suave and charismatic.
Another interesting idea: Anson Mount. We know he does quiet vengeful brooding well on AMC's Hell on Wheels. And he's got broad range as an actor, playing romantic leads and quirky comedies. Plus physically he's one of the bigger guys on the list. Yeah, there's lots of interesting guys out there that could do a passable Batman - especially as he will no doubt be a secondary character in this, not the focus.
So I'm the only one who wants Bale? You bring him put if retirement ti deal with Supes, then kill him in the first Justice League movie. He's got all the built in gravitas to counter a rookie Superman.
The idea of Bale isn't a problem with the actor, but with the way Bruce Wayne's story was wrapped up in Dark Knight Rises. He's still my first choice, but I'm wary of how he'd be written back into the game.
Well, the bigger problem with Bale is he's explicitly said he won't do it. If they could get Bale back, that would be awesome. But the actor feels like the story arc is over and doesn't want to revisit it. Could be a negotiating tactic - he'd make a good counterpoint to Robert Downey Jr's Stark as the central point that the other characters revolve around, and it would fit a bit more with Batman than with Stark.
Having reviewed these names with a Google Image search - I'm prepared to escalate Morgan to my second choice.
Honestly, i'm not sure i WANT Bale outside of TDK context. There are all kinds of good reasons why it would be fucking awkward IMO
