James Gunn Teases New Batman Casting ‘Isn’t Very Far Away’

A new Batman is coming. No, not the Matt Reeves sequel, though that, too, is coming. We mean James Gunn’s Batman. The new DCU Batman. The one we’ll potentially see on screen with David Corenswet’s Superman, Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart, John Cena’s Peacemaker, and others. Gunn and fellow DC President Peter Safran have long made it clear that Batman will play a key role in their ongoing DC Universe, and that he won’t be played by Robert Pattinson. So who will it be and when? On his new podcast canonizing The Suicide Squad, Gunn teased fans that the casting is coming and gave a few other details too. “It won’t be too long before we’re casting Batman,” Gunn says on the podcast. “We haven’t cast yet, by the way. All the people thinking he’ll show up in this or that, it’s all bullshit. When we do cast the DCU Batman, which isn’t very far away, if I gave somebody a day role in The Suicide Squad that is going to be the best Batman, I’m not going to rule him out from that. I want to get everybody into account. One of the things that excites me about casting Batman is being able to pick a Batman who’s actually the best actor for that role. Superman’s have always been chosen based on who the best actor for that role is. And for some reason, Batmans are always chosen as movie stars.” So, maybe this Batman won’t be a movie star. Which is intriguing. Batman himself is a movie star, after all. Much as Spider-Man and James Bond are the stars, not Andrew Garfield or Daniel Craig (until they accept the roles of course). Gunn went on to tease a bit more. “People are always looking for little hints about the casting of Batman,” he said. “Roughly, Batman and Superman are around the same age. I don’t think they’re drastically different ages. They’re future best pals. Contemporaries.” Best pals, huh? Intriguing. So no Batman vs. Superman just yet. As for the age thing, in real life, David Corenswet is 33 and, we’d imagine, that’s probably about what his Superman is too. So Gunn will be casting the best actor for the role, around the age of 30 or so. But will it be for The Brave and the Bold as previously believed? Will it be something else? And how will the 2028 release of The Batman Part II play a part? Apparently, those choices and more are no longer far away. Want more io9 news? Check out the best movies and TV shows to stream this month and all the upcoming sci-fi, fantasy, and horror books that should be on your radar.